Learn the Fear
by HeartlessWritten
Summary: OC, Eventual Timetravel, AU. 'Fear reverberated throughout my every bone, and I wondered why it was the Gate, and not Heaven or Hell or something equally unbelievable as this.' Was it really death?
1. Chapter 1

**Learn the Fear**

January 2nd, 2009, I died. I'm not sure how, I was just certain that I had died when the Gate appeared in front of me.

**Gate (noun) [gayt] (**_**gates**_**) **

**barrier across gap: A movable barrier, usually on hinges, that closes a gap in a fence or wall**

**opening in wall: an opening in a wall or fence**

**point of access: a means of access or entrance**

Yes, THE Gate, in all its oppressive and fearsome glory. It scared me to death: I was in shock, not thinking clearly. What had happened? Was I dreaming? No, I wouldn't have asked myself that if I were dreaming. I stared that the magnificent creation. It was the only object besides me in the place that could only be named nothingness. As the doors opened, I suddenly had an image in my head of Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean 3) hissing, _"Do you fear Death?"_

Hands sprung out. Still in a state of loss, I didn't resist the pull. Fear reverberated throughout my every bone, and I wondered why it was the Gate, and not Heaven or Hell or something equally unbelievable as this. Moreover, I wondered why I was here in the first place.

_Was I going to Amestris?_

_**Do you wish to go to Amestris?**_

I didn't question why something I couldn't see was speaking to me. _What do you mean?_

_**Is that your wish?**_

…_Yes._

_**Equivalent exchange. An eye for an eye…**_

_A life for a life._

Silence. I was dragged into the gate, and the doors slammed shut behind me. The black things—Gate Babies, my subconscious supplied—clawed at my skin, but they didn't rip anything away, like I had thought they would. Like they had done with Edward, and Wrath, and Al…

_Am I dead?_

_**Not anymore, child.**_

I landed on my feet, in the middle of a square looking field full of grass. Trees created the borderline on three sides; the third looked like there was a road there.

What just happened? Did I die? I think I did… Pretty certain. After all, It had said 'not anymore', so I'm alive now…

Just to confirm it, I jabbed a fingernail into my arm.

"Ow!"

Okay, I was a member of the living.

A noise in the closest bushes startled me, and I swung around to watch a large golden god barrel out of the bushes and circle me three times before nudging my leg. Something was off about this dog… but it wasn't menacing. Familiar, almost.

I held in a gasp, and asked, "Cody? Are… Are you Cody?" Cody was a dog that had been with me since I was born. He died by liver cancer in 2003, and my whole family grieved. It had been during a sleepover at my friend's house that he had passed away, and Mom had shown up crying the next morning at the door.

But if I had died—by some yet-unknown means—and appeared here, than there was a chance that this was Cody…

"Sit."

He sat.

"Paw." I held out my hand.

He placed his paw in it.

I hugged him, touching my forehead to his.

'_I will be your guide in this world.'_ A male voice rang in my head. I jumped back in shock.

"What?"

'_Apologies for startling you. I had gained telepathic abilities through the Gate when I arrived here. It is nice seeing you again, Young One."_

"Young One?! I'm fourteen, you know." I was a little thrown off by my dead dog coming back to life and talking to me, but somehow I managed to gain a steady voice.

'_Ah, but I am greatly older."_

"How old?" I asked sceptically.

'_One hundred and fourty-six.'_

"Well shit." I placed my hands on my hips. "A life for a life… does that mean I died to come to… a field?"

'_Welcome to Amestris, the place of your afterlife.'_

"So I really am here…" I grinned, barely containing excitement. At one point I must have thought that my behaviour was strange for one in such a situation, but it was pushed to the side as I created my story with my 'guide'. "So I need an excuse as to why I have no records, then." I told Cody. "Or else they'll lock me up and claim me to be a Homunculus or something stupid like that. Any ideas?"

'_It is good you know so much about this world already. It will make things easier on me.'_

I continued to ramble away. "So do you think I'll be able to do alchemy? I wonder if I'll be able to do it like Ed; just a clap of the hands, and voila! That would be amazing!"

'_Please pay attention to what I'm saying--.'_

"Would it be strange if I suddenly met Ed? Or is that normal? Is this situation itself normal? And what if—did you say something, Cody?"

'_Like I said, pay attention to what I am saying, it could mean life or death. First of all, your current placement is a field that marks the midpoint between two cities.'_

Cody's voice was there, but then it was not. Everything felt so light and happy, anything he said wouldn't have had any effect on my consciousness. I tried to take a step, but my body felt even lighter than the surrounding air, and I was weak; why? Was it the after effects of the gate? Either way, I fell to the ground, feeling as if I didn't even have enough strength to lay there.

It was in this semi-conscious state that I heard Cody sigh exasperatedly, and trot off. I was certain he'd said something to me before leaving that was rather reassuring, but I couldn't recall what it was. An unknown amount of time later, footsteps crumpled the grass, drawing closer and louder, until it sounded like the person was speeding up. Muffled voices reached my ears, and my eyes captured boots; someone was kneeling in front of me.

All I could do was blink as the person poked me in the shoulder, then rolled me over to check my breathing. My sight was directed towards the sky, and I blinked again, trying to clear the fuzziness from my head.

Eventually the person lifted me up and put me in a piggy-back position on their back. I felt bad, I was like a dead weight and I knew it. Unfortunately, I couldn't move at all. After another unspecified amount of time, the person had trekked into a town with bustling people, through a small gate, and into a cozy looking house. Muted speech tickled my ears as the man who had found me talked to a woman who seemed familiar, but in my strange separated state, I couldn't place it. He carried me up a flight of stairs. Surely he was getting tired by now? I couldn't be that light. And he was carrying me for a long time.

We reached a bedroom, where he set me down on something soft. I lay there, still unable to move, as the people's mutterings from downstairs faded to background noise. My head remained facing the ceiling. I wished I could see the people's faces, but I still could do no more than blink. But when I blinked, my eyes stuck closed, and my world sat in silence and darkness.

* * *

"…Comatose state."

"Eh… I guess we can do no more than to let her sleep for now. How long do you think she'll be out?"

"It's uncertain, maybe we should send her to the hospital."

Ow. My head hurt. I opened my eyes, but immediately shut them, having been blinded by the sun streaming through an open window. Ow. Slowly, my eyes adjusted. It seemed I still couldn't move my head yet… damn. I managed to twitch a finger, though! Yay!

What happened to Cody? All I remember appears like a silent movie, and he had gone off when it started, and then the person found me… could the person have been Cody?

As if on cue, I felt a tugging on my consciousness. Cody's voice seeped into my head. _'I had brought the human to you when you ran out of energy. There was not much I could do on my own.'_

"Oh."

Wait.

I just spoke.

Well, let's add that to things I can do successfully! Lessee, we got blink, and twitch a fnger, and speak. Yay! We are on our way to recovery!

"How the hell does a dog get a human's attention effectively?" I mumbled, somehow certain that the mutt would be able to hear me.

'_I gave the man a pull on his mind. My telepathic abilities are only clear with those I had known for a long time. With strangers, I can only influence decisions.'_

"Oh, you're awake?" A woman asked. "How're you feeling?"

"Uh… how should I answer that?"

"In as blunt a way as possible."

"Okay. Numb."

"No pain?"

"Nope… where am I exactly?"

"My house. Can you move?"

"Who're you, then? And not at all."

"Izumi Curtis, nice to meet you. What were you doing in a field?"

"…uh…Do you know how awkward this is? I can't even _move_."

There was a sigh, then Izumi Curtis's face came into view as she helped me sit up in bed. I couldn't tell if I were comfy, I didn't even feel her hands on my back as I was positioned.

I suddenly knew exactly what Al felt like in a suit of armour, and what Ed's automail felt like.

Wow.

I didn't like it one bit.

"Man, this is so annoying…"

Izumi Curtis sat down in my sight on a stool, and suddenly the pieces clicked into place. Izumi Curtis was the woman who had taught Ed and Al alchemy.

"You probably have nerve damage. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was semi-conscious when whoever-it-was carried me here, but before that All I remember is waking up standing in a field, then feeling really light and falling over…"

"What about before waking up?"

I didn't want to tell her about the gate. Racking my brain, I couldn't remember what happened previous to the gate—I played over and over my morning routine of getting ready for school, but then realized it must have been a Sunday because I can remember everything from Monday waking up until delivering Friday's papers. I vaguely remember being annoyed at having to get up early on Saturday, but other than that…

"What day is it today?" I asked.

"It's Monday."

"I can't remember anything after Saturday afternoon."

"…That helps, in a way. You must have hit your head. I'm going to call a doctor over to check you out. I'll be right back." She got up and left, and I let out a breath once I heard the door click shut.

The force of what was happening to me still didn't hit yet, though I continued to play what the Gate said in my head. I wasn't dead… anymore. So yes, I HAD died. But _how_? I had an itching feeling that figuring out how I died would solve everything.

But still… It pretty much meant that I had gone from one world to another, without being able to get home. I wouldn't be able to see my family again. There was no impact on my mind, and I determined that I was automatically shutting out and bottling up any overwhelming feelings that could damage my mental state.

"I'm in shock… and so much trouble…" I murmured, just before the door opened up and Izumi stepped back into my field of view, an unfamiliar man trailing behind her.

"This is Dr. Suresh."

"Yo. Call me Kit, I guess."

Kit. A nickname derived from Kitsune, meaning Fox. My friend had dubbed me so after we had watched a youtube video. She was promptly named Box, and our third friend was Sox. But that's another story.

The name Suresh, though, was almost funny. There was a Dr. Suresh who was a character in a TV show called Heroes. He was pure hearted up until the 3rd season, whereas he injected himself to try and give himself superpowers, and ended up working in an evil person's lab. This Suresh though, looked very German, with blonde hair and sea-blue eyes that were almost grey.

He held up a finger and flicked on a flashlight, which he shone in my eye.

"I want you to follow my finger with your eyes."

* * *

"She has no physical damage. It is all in her mind. This can sometimes happen when something traumatic affects the person, and is generally the brain rejecting reality. The side-effects—not being able to move, and such—will wear off after a day or two, but who knows what her mental state will be in by then…"

Dr. Suresh tried not to let me hear him, but I heard anyways, through the thick wooden door. I had guessed it had something to do with my mental state, but it was reassuring to know that I'd still be able to move. My current predicament, however, was whether or not to tell Mrs. Curtis about the Gate, me dying, my memory blacking out a good 24 hours or more.

I wouldn't tell her. I knew from the start that I wouldn't. It was the way I had survived; I never told my dad, or my mom, or my brother or friends anything. Micah—the friend dubbed Box—was probably the one who knew the most. Other than that, I had always been a masochist, wanting to shoulder the family's grief.

When people say that talking lets the listener take on a bit of the weight, I would always instinctively think that I wouldn't want that. I wouldn't want to take on someone else's pain, so why let them take mine? It just wasn't fair.

I had always thought I was a bit like the Elrics in that aspect. I had constantly done things on my own, feeling that other people slowed me down. Every time I had felt I was better off on my own; people made me feel awkward when talking to them. I couldn't understand them, and would try too hard to figure them out, which was continually causing me to subconsciously shove people away.

I was happy in my own little world.

Or was I?

What was happiness, anyways?

"Kit…?" Mrs. Curtis popped open the door and sat on the stool again.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any relatives in the area? We could contact them…" She seemed to notice something about the way I looked or something, because she suddenly looked almost as sad as I did. "Is something the matter?"

"I have none… in the area…" I mumbled. I hated being paralyzed. I couldn't hide my tears, couldn't pull a shadow over my grief.

I cracked.

And with that crack, the whole wall came tumbling down. I grasped at the bricks, trying my best to rebuild it, but it wouldn't work… It continued to crumble.

Mrs. Curtis leaned over and wiped my tears away, pulling me into a hug.

"It's… horrible," I told her. "I can't feel anything right now. I know you're here, but nothing registers… Cody…" My voice fell as I said Cody's name, calling him to me for comfort of a sort.

'_I cannot get to you right now, young one. I cannot enter other's houses without permission. And before you make a fool of yourself, the Telepathy goes both ways; I will hear you if you call me in your mind.'_

'They were just wondering about my mental state, and here I am talking to dogs in my head. Wonderful.' Through my tears, I managed a hiccupped laugh, which received a weird look from Mrs. Curtis. I didn't acknowledge it.

I quieted down, and Mrs. Curtis placed me back up against the headboard. I felt like a doll, having someone shift me around like this. At least I don't get uncomfortable…

I suddenly felt like I was in one of those old movies, where the bad guy would say something along the lines of, "Despair and Die!" And the hero would despair, thinking that he'd lost, but eventually he'd pull through and wouldn't die.

For me, I'm certainly despairing, but I _had_ died, and was brought back to life by the bad guy.

I guess my movie is a little more messed up than others.

"Are you hungry?" Mrs. Curtis inquired.

"Not really. I guess that joins in with the numb feeling… I'm going to be extremely bored, not being able to move…" I sighed.

Mrs. Curtis stood up. "You can stay in my house as long as you want. If you want something, just give a shout, okay?"

"…Yeah." She was a nice woman, even though she beat up Ed and Al continuously, it was only because she cared and didn't want them to get hurt. I wondered what would happen if the military found out that a person appeared out of nowhere, no family, no relation whatsoever to the area, and no records of any sort. I thought of the fanfics where Colonel Mustang found out, and Hughes researched it, and discovered the person didn't exist, and then Fullmetal would have to keep an eye on them. Hell, they'd probably think I was a homunculus. If I could move, I would have checked myself over for an ouroboros, but I was pretty certain I wasn't one. After all, I'm not named after a sin.

Do you have to be, though?

I wondered for the rest of the day, sitting there, staring at the wall, or out the window. Mrs. Curtis came in every now and then, to check on me, but other than that I was left alone. The woman had told me that it was Mason, whom I haven't met yet that found me in the field. He was on an errand, and would be back by tomorrow. Dr. Suresh had said that I would be able to move by tomorrow, and would probably have some feeling back, but it was recommended that I stay in bed to regain my strength. I didn't protest to this, thinking that it was for the best. The sooner I recover, the easier it will be for me to begin research about the Gate.

I wasn't planning on going back home. I just needed to know what happened.

I was sure as hell not joining the military to access their library, though.

* * *

**A/N: I've been writing this story in the background for the longest time. I like FMA. It's a good anime. And because you're reading this, you probably agree with me. **

**Review, and I'll update.**


	2. Chapter 2

_I wasn't planning on going back home. I just needed to know what happened._

_I was sure as hell not joining the military to access their library, though._

The next morning, I found I had enough strength to roll over in bed, and shift a limb or two, but that was it. I was annoyed, but it was better than nothing. I was able to eat, and Mrs. Curtis brought me some delicious smelling breakfast and asked if I needed anything.

"If I'm going to be staying in bed all day, could I possibly get a book or two to read?"

And that was that. She brought be a book on alchemy, and a fiction one. Right away, I picked up the alchemy one, wanting to know as much as possible.

I got through three chapters before my eyes tried to close on me. I was expending too much energy for what happened to me, and I let my eyes close fully.

'Hey Cody, where are you right now?'

'_I am standing guard outside the Curtis house. I will warn you if anyone important comes along.'_

'Define 'important'.'

'_An individual that you may recognize or someone who means harm to you or to the family.'_

'Okay, that helps. Anything else I should know before I fall asleep?'

'_Just some advice; follow your gut feeling, it is more trustworthy than logic at times.'_

'I would have never expected that to come from you…'

'_It is how your idol, the Fullmetal boy, survived so far.'_

'Makes sense. G'night…'

'_Sleep well, young one.'_

"Stop calling me that!" I mumbled out loud, drifting off quickly.

When I awoke, it was past noon, and there was a tray with a lidded bowl and a bottle of milk on the side table. The books I had been reading were sprawled on the bed, the sheets barely moved. I placed the tray on my lap and opened the bowl to reveal a wonderful-smelling soup. I gobbled it down, satisfying the small hunger in my stomach, finishing off with a large gulp of my favourite liquid substance: milk.

Yes, I loved milk. I found it so funny how Ed and I were complete opposites in that way. Moving on, I placed the tray back on the table and sat back, opening the alchemy book again. I could barely concentrate, reading one page before setting it down on my lap and staring at it indignantly, sighing. I felt anticipation, as if something were going to appear tomorrow, and it was distracting me from everything I tried to do.

So I lay back and slept until just before 3am. When I woke, the moonlight poured through the window and pooled onto the white sheets, causing them—and myself, being rather pale from my condition—to glow. The feeling of anticipation was growing rather annoying, and I couldn't fall into a deep sleep without being woken up. Finally, the moon dipped and the sun rose, bringing breakfast in the form of pancakes covered in butter and syrup to my bedside table.

Yum. Who made this? Did Mrs. Curtis cook? I couldn't remember. But it reminded me of my mom's pancakes, back when my family was still whole, still okay. Before she and dad divorced, everything had been perfect… We were a perfect family. Exactly what anyone would want: mother, father, daughter, son, and two dogs. Dad was in the military, and mom worked for a mortgage centre. We had bought a house on top of a hill, with four bedrooms, one bathroom, and a large backyard.

Then, mom discovered the internet. And met Bernie. He lived in the States. We lived in Canada. Still...

Okay, enough depressing background for now.

By 9am, the anticipation was squirming my stomach around, making me feel slightly sick, and certainly paling my complexion a tad. I could hear Mrs. Curtis and her husband exit the house through the back door, another man entering through the front door, shuffling around the kitchen, then leaving. Metallic and hollow footsteps clanked, following the sound of a door opening.

Hell no. Was THAT what I was anticipating, this whole time? Didn't this ALWAYS happen in fanfics?

In a surge of strange adrenaline, I shifted so that my feet dangled over the bed, the white dress Mrs. Curtis had helped me change into falling over my knees. I weakly stood up, using the wall for support and half-dragging my body to the door, where I slowly and cautiously peeked my head out. The hallway echoed footsteps that climbed up the stairs. A head of blonde hair popped into view, gold eyes meeting mine in surprise.

With a squeak, I shut my door, trying my best to wobble over to the bed before I had an overload of emotion. What the hell was I supposed to say to THE Fullmetal Alchemist?

Hang on. I should just pretend that I don't know who he is, that'll somewhat make it much easier—

I was suddenly barrelled over, the door slamming into my back and shoving me to the floor. I groaned and rolled onto my back, the most I could do with my current strength.

"Thanks," I said bitterly. "This helps my predicament so much right now…" I attempted to get up, but I could barely get my arms under me.

"Ah, I didn't see you there, sorry."

"If you're sorry, then at least help me to the bed, please, I kind of can't move…"

* * *

"Half-paralysis?"

"That's my word for it… It'll wear off." I contained strange feelings. Being this happy was a foreign feeling to me. Even though I'd pretty much sacrificed my life (not like I had a choice; either this or nu) I felt slightly overwhelmed by almost strange feelings. I was a conundrum within myself.

"Call me Kit, I guess. So you're Ed, than who's the quiet guy in the armour?"

"Oh, this is my younger brother, Al. He's fourteen."

"… No comment… Nice to meet you, Al." I avoided Ed's gaze; he was probably expecting me to make a jab at his height, compared to his brother's, but I wasn't really one to talk. I was rather short myself… I was probably shorter than him.

"Y-you too…" He was rather relieved that I hadn't said anything, it seemed.

I clapped my hands together once, startling the Elric brothers (heheh) and effectively getting their attention. "So what brings you here? Are you relatives to the Curtis's or something?"

"Izumi was our Teacher. We have something to do in this town, so we thought we might as well avoid as much pain as possible and make this our first stop… speaking of which, do you know where she is?"

"Hmm, I think Mr. and Mrs. Curtis went out the back door about ten minutes before you got here. I'm not sure where they are right now, but you could start there, I suppose. I'd help, but I'm sorta handicapped at the moment…" I ended with a small laugh, praying that I'd be able to get my strength back by the end of the day. Already, this much excitement was wearing me out.

In response to that thought, I yawned and lay down. "Beware of flying shovels," I muttered into the blankets, unsure of what I had said myself, or why, for that matter. "I'm just gonna sleep here, for a bit…"

Al, being the nice kid he is, tucked me in as if I were Ed. "Sweet dreams," he bid me, and the brothers left the room.

I had a strange dream. It started in my high school, in second period. I saw my friend, Michaela, sitting at her desk in geography, a miserable look on her face. She looked up—there was no sound, I realized—and hesitantly stood up, being called on by the teacher or announcements. Leaving the classroom, she trekked down to the first floor, surprising me by passing the office and heading for a room titled student services. This place helped out people with their schedules, university selections, and all that, and it had guidance counsellor's offices.

As she entered the room, I spotted Viki, my next closest friend. They greeted each other, and a woman in one of the offices welcomed them in and started speaking to them.

Michaela and Viki held shocked expressions. Then, they started crying. Viki first—she wasn't as strong as she appeared, I knew—then Michaela a few seconds after, prompted to show a bit of weakness.

What was going on?

Suddenly, the view changed. It was the past. The day Cody died; my family and my younger self—I was about 8 or 9 then—had gathered in the living room, and we sat silently, crying.

Next, I was plagued with the death of a girl I had known since grade 1, Maggy. From what I knew she was still alive and living healthy in B.C., but this… vision… showed her with longer hair (she often kept hers short), and she was taller. It was a disease of some sort, that caused her to lie in a hospital bed, pale and silent.

Why was I being shown all this?

A normal morning appeared before my eyes. Cars whizzed past unfamiliar houses, the air was damp and misty, and kids trudged to school, rubbing their eyes. Micah was among them. The first girl, rather, person in general I had talked to on the first day of seventh grade, she had been my best friend through to the present.

Her eyes widened. Her breath stopped for a moment, and she tumbled forward.

Students continued their trek to school, no one bothering to stop and check up on the girl.

She was dying, due to the negligence of the people.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream and hit and murder whoever was responsible for this. I knew that these images hadn't come true while I was still alive, and I knew that someone was showing them to me. Was it the gate?

I awoke with a gasp, feeling cool air on my forehead. I had been sweating… Panicking, I called out to Cody mentally.

'_I am here, child. What is the matter?'_

'The dreams… the images, will they come true? Is it possible?'

'_You came here, did you not? It is possible, yes. However not all were of the future, correct?'_

'Was the first one of the present, then…?'

'_I cannot tell you, young one. Even I, who has lived for so long, cannot know everything.'_

'Then can you tell me where you are?'

'_If you wish to see me, I am in front of the house you are currently residing in.'_

'Okay… thanks.'

Looking out the window, I saw that it was already evening. The moon wasn't high, and the clock proclaimed it to be after 9pm, so I had slept for a good while… Hopefully, that meant that I had more strength.

Standing up brought only a slight shakiness and I managed to get to the door without incident, and without requiring silent assistance from the wall. I leaned heavily on it while heading down the stairs, saving my energy. Finally, I arrived on the front steps of the house, finding no one on the way there. And, seeming to glow golden slightly, stood Cody. He sat in front of me, touching his nose to my knee, watching as I sat down.

I let out a breath, hugged the dog, and sat back, a small smile on my face. "I thought of something on my way here." I told him. "If they die, does that mean they come here with me?"

'_It is possible, but I am uncertain. You made the choice to come here, to continue your life knowing that you will never go back to your world again. If you should attempt to do so, you will die, and your soul will be recycled by Truth.'_

"Micah will come… She and I had always wanted an adventure of sorts. I don't know _when_, though, and it's bugging me. Maggy, on the other hand, she probably doesn't know what anime is. You know, we had remained out of contact for four years at one point, yet we continued to act like we knew each other well after I sent a letter."

Cody bumped my knee with his head in an affectionate gesture, and I scratched his ears.

"If… When they come, whenever that is, I won't be alone anymore…" I had leaned forward to the point where I had one arm wrapped around my knees, and my head was resting atop them, my eyes closing halfway. "I'm causing Viki and Mickay grief, though… I don't want that… Cody, is it common for someone like me to come here?"

Before he could get a chance to speak, a voice interrupted us.

"Kit…? Who're you talking to?" Ed appeared with the light of an open doorway, causing him to appear as a silhouette to me. I glanced at where my arm hung in the air limply. Cody was gone.

"N-No one, I guess. Talking to myself is rather comforting." Hey, it wasn't a lie! Sort of…

"Really?" He left the door open a crack, and sat down beside me, The yellowish light shone on his hair, making it look really pretty. "I always have Al to talk to, so I've never done that."

I decided I might as well make conversation. "I started talking to myself when my friend, Micah, moved away. It got lonely, 'cause we used to go on walks together all the time, but then it was like she just faded."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… no one talked about her, no one even mentioned her. Me and Viki were the only ones that kept in contact, but Viki wasn't very talkative with me… Micah was like the rainbow-coloured glue that brought and stuck us together. Without her there, we had to make an effort to keep talking."

"…I used to think that Micah was a guy's name…"

"I-It is, but she had weird parents, I guess." I stared at the ground, where little pebbles fell in between stalks of grass, and ants crawled across them.

"Is that your catch-phrase? 'I guess'?" I felt him looking at me, and didn't dare move my gaze away for fear of losing what I was going to say. I was like this with every person I barely knew.

"I use it 'cause it defines that I'm uncertain about something, that the fact may not be completely true."

"Smart one, aren't you?"

"Shut up…"

"That was a compliment, not a jest."

"…My friends would always tease me about my smarts and my height. It gets annoying when people even mention it, now."

"Wow… That just goes to show that the people you meet really do change you."

"Well that's a given."

We sat there in silence, and I fidgeted, rocking forwards and backwards. I never was one to stay still, and seemed to have a problem with doing so unless I was putting conscious thought into it.

I suddenly had a feeling I should duck, and did so, pulling Ed down with me in front of the steps, narrowly avoiding a steel spade that went flying overhead.

"Flying shovels!" I cried, ducking even lower and letting go of Ed's coat.

"Are you psychic?"

"It's possible, but I don't think so. Just gut feeling."

"Heh. Well, before you get caught in the crossfire, I'd better go see what this is about."

Mrs. Curtis's voice boomed from inside the house. "EDWARD ELRIC, WHERE WERE YOU ALL AFTERNOON! YOU COME VISIT, BUT SNEAK OUT RIGHT AFTER LUNCH?! WHERE DID YOU GO?!"

"…You know she's just worried about you. Go." I pushed him through the door, and shut it after me. "Cody, why do you disappear when there are people around?" I asked, not turning around.

'_It is necessary, young one. They cannot see me, and so I disappear to not confuse you. You would have looked like a fool if you were to say you were talking to your dog.'_

"And then imagine there's no dog there. Nice thinking. They ARE worried about my mental state, after all." I sat back down on the steps. "So how do you think they'd react if I told them I could see things that weren't there?"

'_I am very much here, child. I cannot be seen by untouched eyes.'_

"Please translate."

'_You have seen the Gate, as you call it. This allows me to see you. With the added past, It opens your mind for clear telepathy. There are other possible factors as well. With strangers who have not seen the gate, they only can be influenced. With those that have seen it, as the boy has, as well as the woman, it allows subtle telepathy. Until you get to know them better, I will not be able to speak to them as I do with you.'_

"I see…" I yawned. "Sheesh, how much energy do I spend talking? I'm tired already! G'night Cody, I'll try to come out in the morning again. It's much more polite when you look at the person you're talking to."

'_Sleep well, child.'_

I headed inside, where Ed was yelled into helping me up the stairs, and where I was yelled at for being outside without telling anyone. I didn't bother arguing, just yawned again and bid everyone goodnight, giving a smile to Mrs. Curtis to ease her worry over the Elrics.

It seemed to work. Ed helped me up the stairs and into bed, leaving me in peace to ponder whether I wanted to sleep or not.

Eventually, the choice was made for me.

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**A/N: As promised. I got two reviews, and so I update. I like this story too much for it to go to waste, anyways. **

**I was asked why I didn't include a description of Kit. This is because I'm leaving her image up to you. Throughout the story, I leave hints and such for the way that I picture her, but you don't have to follow this.**

**If you want to know, I use the image of a short girl with straight brown hair that touches the base of her neck, and golden-brown eyes. It's the basis for most of my characters in other stories I hadn't posted. **

**-HW-**


	3. Chapter 3

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-Learn the Fear-

I had another silent dream. In this one, I saw my family. First it was my brother at his high school—and since we went to different schools, I've only seen it once or twice—he was called down to the office, where an adult told him something. He paled, sitting down. He said one word only, before the scene switched to Dad at work. I'd been to his workplace before, during the bring-your-kid-to-work-day that's required for all grade 9s. He was in his office when he picked up the phone and donned the same expression as my brother, then did something that I hadn't seen him do since Cody's death; he cried.

Mom did to; she was at her boyfriend's house, and had gotten a call from her mother. Before long, practically everyone I knew was directly related to me were either crying, or in shock.

_They're_ in shock? How about _THEY _try being the resurrected dead person!

Wait, that's it! I was seeing images from MY world, the people's reactions that my death brought them! Now it was obvious that I was causing a lot of people grief, and I did NOT want to have these dreams again.

With that, I sat upright in bed for the rest of the night. I wasn't tired, my sleeping schedule was just a little bit off. From my window, I could see about five houses, providing little entertainment seeing as most people were sleeping at this time of night.

Scratch that, there seemed to be a light on in the farthest house. Blue light? Aren't lights here supposed to be orange or yellow? That means someone's performing alchemy… I wonder why. I made a mental note to ask Mrs. Curtis about that house in the morning, but I would be careful to say that I saw blue light and not alchemic light. Otherwise she'd just ask me where I've seen alchemy before, and that's a question I can't answer without lying.

I sat there, thoughts zooming about my head, sometimes in circles, until I must have dozed off sitting up. I snapped to when Mrs. Curtis came in with breakfast; this time it was eggs and toast.

"Mrs. Curtis, what's in that house on the end?" I asked, pointing through the window at it. She peered through the glass.

"That's Dr. Suresh's house. It also serves as the clinic."

"Really…?" I didn't have to fake my questions, at least. "Uh… is it normal for it to glow blue at 3am?"

"Blue?" She sounded alarmed.

"Yeah, sort of almost white."

The woman hurriedly composed herself. "I'll look into it, okay? Eat up, you need your strength." She was the epitome of motherness. I surprisingly found myself comparing her to my own mother, and I ended up extremely depressed and violently shoving the very thought out the window. Figuratively, of course.

Breakfast was, as usual, delicious. I read the alchemy book while I ate, careful not to get food on the pages. It was a practiced art with me, being a bookworm in my past life. I had usually only read fiction books and manga, though, so this book was definitely interesting and a new experience. I discovered that most of the stuff I read about, I could connect it to the Elric brothers' adventures.

While I was reading, a random thought popped into my head. During season 3 of Heroes, Suresh ends up working for the bad guys, trying to find a formula that could give normal people powers… The blue alchemic light… I knew nothing of the Suresh here, I shouldn't judge him, despite weird feelings.

Even though Cody did tell me to follow my gut feeling, I logically thought that I should deal with it only if I have to. Who knows how much energy I have in store? It was best to stay here. If I figured anything out, I'd tell Ed (if I can find him) and get him to deal with it.

I found out, though, that Ed and Al were practically never in the house, nor around it. When I asked Mrs. Curtis about this, she said that the boys never stay long; she knew that when they came to visit, it was usually because they had a job going on in this town.

I took special note that no one mentioned how they were in the military. I guess they didn't know how I'd react to that, but I seemed to accept things a little easily for one my age. After all, it's not possible for me to see my family again and I'm not complaining. That's big.

I realized that I was hoping Micah would die. Aren't I a good friend? But while I was sitting outside, back against the wall with my knees pulled up to my chest, I couldn't stop thinking about the vision of Micah falling over and being forgotten, like a tossed rag doll. It was sad, and it made my heart ache to see her in such a state, but I believed that when she died, she would be given the same choice as me.

Something told me that wasn't true, but I ignored it to the best of my ability.

I spent a lot of the day sitting outside. An hour after lunch though, Dr. Suresh came over to check up on me, and we ended up moving to the living room, where we plus Mr. and Mrs. Curtis sat on comfy sofas as they talked. Dr. Suresh would ask me questions, how was I feeling, was there any pain, had anything scary happen before I took up residency here, and so on. I replied with non-suspicious answers, doing my best to be as honest as possible without freaking anyone out.

Half the conversation was lost to me, because something felt off. Something about Dr. Suresh… He turned to look at me, and it clicked. His eye color! It was definitely different. It was more of a bright, sky blue than the grey-blue sea. I couldn't quite doubt it, because the feeling of off-ness didn't go away, but got stronger. There was also something that was miscellaneous. It wasn't right, but nor was it wrong. A mis-placed feeling? It was something I felt I should know, but it kept slipping my mind.

"Kit, is everything alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure."

"Well then, stop by the clinic tomorrow, and we'll see how you're doing by then. You'll get your strength back soon enough, don't worry about that. Eat well, sleep lots, and I'll see you then." Dr. Suresh got up and Mrs. Curtis showed him to the door. I didn't move, but wondered what was so off about him, besides the eye-color.

"Was it just me or was something a little wrong about him…?" I asked Mr. Curtis, only getting a grunt in return. I guess he never really did talk much.

Maybe Suresh had a twin brother that was filling in for him… Or—NO! Shit, he couldn't be Envy, could he?

Mrs. Curtis came back in. "Are you really feeling okay?" She asked with concern.

"I'm fine." I dismissed, "Anyways, please tell me I wasn't the only one who noticed that that person wasn't Dr. Suresh."

I got a quizzical glance.

"Oh, come on! The eyes were definitely a few shades off, the air about him, AND the way he was acting—as if he just met you today—clearly show that he wasn't exactly…" I slowed down (I MUST have sounded obsessive compulsive) as my thinking process sped up. The blue light. Ed being gone most of the time. Suresh's house, his strange demeanour… It was definitely Envy. That was why Ed had come. But did Ed know that it wasn't Dr. Suresh?

It also meant that Suresh was dead.

I stood up, not saying anything to Mr. or Mrs. Curtis, and hurried out the door after the doctor. I caught up with him two houses down; he was only walking.

"Dr. Suresh! I have a question."

"Kit? You shouldn't be up and about, save your strength. What is it you want to ask? I'll walk you back to the Curtis house." I narrowly avoided him placing a hand on my back.

"Did you get a call late last night?"

"Hmm, yes, I had to attend to a girl two streets down who had a high fever. Is that all?"

I pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. "I think so… I'm just naturally curious, sorry for bothering you. I can walk back on my own."

"Alright then, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah… see you." I resisted running back, utterly creeped out by this guy. Honestly, it was rather disgusting… he acted more like a pedophile than a doctor, sugar-coating the sugar-coat on his words and being TOO nice. It gave me the chills.

So what I had determined so far was that Ed probably didn't know that Dr. Suresh wasn't Suresh, but Envy. The Elrics were probably looking for something in the doctor's house, and Envy also wanted it, which was the reason why he was masquerading as the resident of said house.

Oh joy. Now, to find Ed and Al.

I asked about them as soon as I got in, avoiding questions as to what that was about. I could tell they were worried about my mental state, and was angry that they couldn't trust me (I had the same issues back at home, so I was used to it) but I didn't answer anything and insisted on finding the two brothers, saying I have something I want to ask them.

It wasn't entirely a lie, I did have something to ask. Or rather, I could turn my information into a 'but-you-knew-that-already-right?' type question.

Finally, Mrs. Curtis told me she had sent them on a grocery shopping errand. I thanked her, got directions to the store, and was on my way, walking to save energy.

I was always good with directions, and found the place I was looking for rather quickly. A bell chimed overhead as I entered, glancing down isles as I walked to the cashier. "Did the Elrics pass through here?" I asked the cashier.

"The Elrics? Yeah, they just left. Said they had to go to one more place first… Something about getting a check-up? But they sounded like they were joking… An inside joke, know what I mean?"

"Yeah, sure, thanks."

"Yer new around here, right? Here, take a breath mint can with ya, a welcome gift."

"Uh, thanks." Was he saying my breath smelt bad?

"See ya around!"

I certainly hope not. This guy looked like he wanted to date me, and I had a fear of such things and was prone to being the only girl to ever remain single for over a year. But that was what high school did to me. It had the opposite effect on normal people.

I quickened my pace to a fast walk, arriving at the doctor's house a little slower than I had hoped, but not everyone can teleport.

'Cody, if anything happens that I need to know about, tell me immediately, okay?'

'_Do not worry about such things, child. I have your back.'_

I almost paused. 'That sounds so strange coming from your mouth.'

'_Thankfully I do not speak with a mouth, or that would look ridiculous.'_

'Cracking jokes now, are we?'

I sidled up to the window, peeking in from the corner. The front office was rather empty, but I spotted a door in the back open a few inches. Somehow knowing the front door would be unlocked despite the absence of a human being, I walked in almost casually, and opened the second door to reveal a set of stairs spiralling down.

"Why do I get the feeling this is like an evil mastermind's lair?"

'_You watch one too many movies, young one.'_

"Oh shut it." Speaking out loud was rather comforting, as heading down the spiral stairs knowing that I'd find Envy in the form of Suresh at the bottom felt much like I was heading to center stage in a play for the first time.

Despite the comfort, I shut up. The noise would only ruin the chance of a surprise.

There was another door at the end. This one looked to be a heavy wood. I could hear Al's voice beyond.

"You're a doctor?" He asked.

"What do you think the medicine was for?" Envy, using Suresh's voice, said. "I'm not running a candy factory down here."

Factory? Where did he get that idea? Or was he making his own medicine before Envy took over?

I peeked through the crack in the door. I could see 'Suresh' reaching for a scalpel on a table behind him, his body angled so the brothers couldn't see. The boys themselves were closer to my position, not doing anything of interest. Though I knew Ed could pull out a weapon in a split second, and Al could definitely hold his own in a fight, so I wasn't worried.

The scalpel, though, that worried me. Envy would know that such a thing couldn't do them any more harm than a usual duel, so why bother? It was tiny, too, designed for delicate work—hang on, he was probably going to use it for something else… what?

Beside the scalpel were several other tools, and a paper cup that appeared to be stained a purplish red. The first thing the color brought to mind was the philosopher's stone, which made me spring into action immediately.

I still had the breath mint can in my hand. It was small and flat, simply a small tin can to hold candies. I was afraid I'd miss; I was never good at aiming. Carefully, I directed it through the hole, pointing at the paper cup. The target was smaller than what I'd prefer, but at least I didn't choose to aim at the scalpel.

I threw it. It sailed through the air smoothly and quickly, and hit the cup dead centre, making me wonder if I were really correct about my aiming skill. The cup tipped over, spilling something half-solid onto the ground, away from Envy's surgery tool.

All three turned towards the door. Envy made eye contact with me, outraged that I'd spoiled his plan. He was obviously trying to cut the jelly-like thing in the cup, but I was on the Elrics side.

Speaking of which, they were watching the door warily. I stepped through, my voice cracking slightly as I spoke. "He's not a doctor." I told them, not taking my eyes off Envy. "He's someone else entirely…" I had to stop talking to swallow, using the moment to wonder if I really should tell them that I knew it was Envy himself. I was also shaking, which didn't help my confidence any.

"Wha…? Who is it then? Hasn't this guy been around for ever?" Ed asked.

"Well, Suresh, probably. I wouldn't know. This guy… not so much. Take a guess."

The boy's eyes narrowed, and Al seemed to catch on a moment later, easing into a defensive stance.

"Envy…" the blonde hissed, clapping his hands and drawing his blade. I stared at it a moment in wonder at the sheer craftsmanship, but hurriedly placed my attention on the 'doctor', who was rapidly changing into a palm-tree thing.

"…Are you trying to impersonate a palm-tree?" I asked foolishly; I couldn't help it! It was kind of funny…

"You little brat!" He growled. "Who the hell are you?!"

"I could ask the same thing myself," Ed mumbled, not low enough for me to miss.

Ah. "Am I being doubted, here? I guess it's something I should have expected…Either way, last night you were here, weren't you, boys?" I quizzed the brothers. They looked away, guilty. "I saw blue light. Then, this afternoon, I noticed Dr. Suresh's eyes were a different color; it was a rather stupid mistake, if I do say so myself. And that explains the basics of how I figured it out, I guess." I backed myself up against the wall, suddenly realizing that I had no fighting skill besides a self-defense course in school, and the most lethal thing they taught us there was how to blow out a knee. Nothing even close to defending yourself against a quick-healing psychopath.

Oh dear. It seemed Envy realized that too, judging by the look in his eyes. And he knew how Ed and Al couldn't just let someone die, now, right? Hearts of gold and all.

"Here's a curse for you," I muttered, quoting a movie on the whim, "may all your bacon burn."

Ed just gave me a funny look before springing at the homunculus, Al moving into a stance in front of me, not daring to leave me open to help his brother.

"I've caused trouble, haven't I?" I asked the armour.

"No," he said, then I realized I'd spoken to the wrong person; Al was too nice. "You stopped Envy from using the stone ("some stone," I mumbled, glancing at the jelly-thing on the floor) and not only that, unmasked him, too. We would have never guessed."

"Really? I'm sure you would have figured it out."

"But if he had gotten to the stone, he would have overpowered us."

"What exactly _is_ he, anyways?" I asked, just to appear innocent and ignorant.

"He's a homunculus. The result of a failed human transmutation, a forbidden aspect of alchemy."

"I see. And this 'stone'?"

"You mean you stopped him getting to it without knowing what it was?"

"I just figured it was something important. I mean, I'm pretty sure a scalpel wouldn't really aid him in a fight against Ed, judging from what I see here," I gestured casually to the spinning, breathtaking dance of a fight taking place in front of us.

"Good point. You're smart. How old are you?"

"I'm--," I was cut off as Al suddenly turned, scooped me up, and ran out the door as Envy gave a destructive blow to the wall. "Shit!" I exclaimed, not exactly used to things blowing up relatively close.

"We should head back to Teacher's house. She can help Ed."

"I'll go, you stay here and help; try to get the stone if you can, it still seems really important."

"But--,"

"I can't fight remember? I at least want to do something useful. I promise I'll stay out of the way once I send Mr. And Mrs. Curtis."

"Okay. Stay safe."

"Yes sir!" I rushed off as Al re-entered the room, hoping to avoid any explosions.

Up the stairs, out and outside, it looked like there was nothing eventful going on at all—I guess that's why villains use underground labs for their experiments. I analyzed what I had seen as I ran, realizing that Dr. Suresh really had made his own medicine. So was he a fraud? Was he selling drugs on the sidelines, too? So many possibilities threw themselves at me that I had to push them aside to talk to Mrs. Curtis.

"Go to the clinic, hurry! Ed and Al need your help!"

"What? What's going on?!"

"Homunculus!" I said breathlessly, placing my hands on my knees to steady myself. I was never a good runner. "Something about a stone. Go!"

Without another question, she grabbed her husband and hurried off, running much faster than me. I climbed the stairs and collapsed in my bed, having spent the day's energy and more. Adrenaline kept me going for a good hour more than the usual, but now it was fading, and fast. I couldn't keep my mind on the fight in the basement of the clinic, and I fell asleep with my head on the windowsill, waiting for the four to emerge as healthy as possible.

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**A/N: I mainly wanted to get this chapter up to ask, should I add romance? If so, Ed or Envy? I would like to know before I write any more... It'd be a few chapters ahead, of course. I've got too much written down, but eventually, which would you choose, if at all? **

**-HW-**


	4. Chapter 4

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I fell asleep with my head on the windowsill, waiting for the four to emerge as healthy as possible.

I had a dream, of which I can only remember seeing unfamiliar faces; I was surrounded by them, pampered by them, and doted upon. Then, Envy's face appeared among the strange ones. I reached for him, without knowing why, just wanting to get away, and he took my hand, dragging me from the middle of the people, and into the centre of six more people (of whom I was certain were the other sins, though their faces did not stick). They were chanting something, looking at me like I was some new and exiting food, like I was going to work miracles. I tried to scream, and woke up with a gasp.

The gasp was not my own. I turned around and saw Ed, holding food on a tray. The blanket that Mrs. Curtis must have put on my shoulders fell off as I did so, watching him slowly put the tray on the bedside table, as if he were scared.

"Ed, you're okay!" I smiled at him, and then frowned. "Is something wrong?" I slipped my feet off the bed, realizing I had spent all day running about in a white night gown. Joy.

As my feet touched the floor, Ed spoke.

"Stay away!" He half-screamed at me, obviously terrified. I hated it.

"What?!" I demanded.

"H-homunculus!"

He was pointing straight at me.

I stopped immediately. "…Eh?" I looked myself up and down, suddenly terrified. Why would I be a homunculus? Don't you need human transmutation for that? Ideas sprang up left and right, most of them rather morbid and frowned at. In a millisecond, though, Ed was at my neck, metal blade sticking out of his sleeve. I screamed unintentionally, cutting it off almost as soon as it began. "Don't—ack!" I didn't squirm more than a centimetre, praying that he wouldn't decide to slit my neck.

His left hand was starting to cut off my circulation, and I was laying back on the bed, legs over the side, with Ed's knee in my stomach. Tears from lack of air appeared in the corners of my eyes.

"What the hell are you doing, Edward?!" Mrs. Curtis had appeared at the doorway, outraged.

"She's a homunculus!" He roared, the blade drawing a few drops of blood that tickled my neck before staining the sheets behind my head. There was a flurry of activity as the blonde teen was pulled off me, and I struggled away from the hands trying to grab at me and rolled myself into the corner of the bed, near the headboard, where people seemed to respect my privacy and thought I couldn't do any damage.

"Kit, what is going on here?!"

My voice shook as I tried to answer Mrs. Curtis's question. "I-I'm not entirely sure, he thinks I'm a homunculus, but I dunno why…"

Ed interrupted us, flailing wildly in Mr. Curtis's grip. "The Ouroboros! On the back of her neck!"

I looked up in shock. I had never been around any mirrors since I came here, and my hair was just long enough to cover the back of my neck… with the way I had fallen asleep, and how the blanket sat on my shoulders… it all fit, and I touched the back of my neck in more curious wonder than anything. It certainly didn't feel different… I turned to face the wall, raising the hair on my neck as I did so.

"Is… Is he right…?" I asked fearfully.

"…Yes." Mrs. Curtis breathed. I faced them again, and everyone was silent. I realized that Al wasn't here, and I wondered where they had sent him.

"What exactly does this mean, then?" I tried to get a clear view of everything.

"Homunculi," Ed's Teacher answered, "are beings created by human transmutation. They exist due to a piece of the philosophers' stone, a powerful Alchemic amplifier, which serves as a heart. They can survive practically any injury, but can't use alchemy themselves."

I touched my neck, noticing the cut Ed had made was gone already.

It destroyed any hope of Micah coming here after she died.

Ed seemed to notice that I knew practically nothing about being a homunculus, and relaxed slightly.

I then proposed another question. "But, why would Ed think I'm dangerous? I haven't done anything."

"The homunculi," Ed himself answered, hanging limply, "are trying to use me to create another philosophers' stone, and use it to turn them human. But it means killing people. They seem to try their best to ruin my life along the way."

"But if I didn't even know I was one, that means I'm not included in this plot, right? Can I just continue existing, without being wrapped up in any battle?"

"You COULD be part of it! You're probably lying right now, just to get on our good sides!" Ed was hysterical, and I was practically in tears. "It's better if we kill you now, then we won't have to deal with--,"

"**I've died once, I'm not going to die again!"** I screamed at him, my cheeks wet and my hands shaking. I hugged my knees to hide my face, not wanting to let anyone see me cry. Everything seemed to catch up to me at that moment; not seeing my family, my friends getting hurt, dying, the emotional stress, everything.

"Wh… What do you mean by that?" They were all inquisitive, scared, wondering, their eyes on me.

"I… was offered a second chance at life… but not in my own home. I can't see my family or friends again…" I poked my eyes above my arms to make eye-contact with Ed. His golden eyes were shining in shock, waiting for me to continue. I didn't speak. I just said. "I had a brother, two years older than me. I thought I hated him. My mom and dad are divorced, both with another person. Mom's got heart failure. Micah, my best friend, is going to die soon, but I don't know when. I had a _life_, Edward. Is that enough for you to believe that I'm not one of the other Homunculi?" I rubbed my eyes, just so that I didn't have to look at anyone anymore.

"Was it the gate?"

"Eh?"

Ed repeated his question.

"…Yeah… 'Equivalent Exchange', it said. 'An eye for an eye…"

The room was silent as Ed slumped to the floor. I didn't look up, just waited for someone to say something.

"Y-You're not going to kill me?" I stuttered.

The door opened and closed downstairs. "I'm back!" Al called. "Where is everyone?"

Ed looked at the room entrance. "…no." He sighed, then stood up and went to greet his brother. Mr. Curtis followed, to make sure the boys weren't getting into trouble, and I was left with Mrs. Curtis.

If possible, I curled myself up even tighter. The white nightgown spread against my legs, and I wondered whether I should ask for a change of clothes. What was going to happen now? I was too afraid to ask.

I felt the bed dip towards the woman's direction, and I tensed as she gathered me in her arms and hugged me.

What…?

Then I remembered Wrath, the homunculus created to be a child, no more, no less, and how Izumi Curtis had welcomed him into her home. I didn't remember any more than that, but it was enough for now.

* * *

I stepped out of the bathroom wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue kapris, towel-drying my hair. I paused as Ed passed me, growling.

What for? I guess I go against everything that he's believed in; that all homunculi were evil, etc.

"Sorry…" I whispered morbidly.

He stopped, but didn't turn around. "For what?"

"For existing." I remarked bitterly, my voice stronger. I crossed the hall and closed my door behind me, not caring to see his reaction. Whether that made him angry or guilty, I didn't care.

I sat on my bed, staring out the window, trying my best not to think. If I started thinking, sadness of the loss would come to haunt me, plus all the horrible possibilities of being a homunculus. Maybe I was already one of that person's puppets? Maybe I was already playing a part in the get-Ed-to-create-a-stone plan, earning his trust. Maybe—

I stopped myself. I was being ridiculous. Emptying my mind again, I remained staring out the window, feeling suffocated. I opened the window to let some air in. It was a pretty day, few clouds drifting in the sky. The sun was out bright, lighting up my face as I stuck my head out.

I looked down. The second story wasn't that high up, and with the regenerative powers of being a homunculus, I wouldn't hurt myself… and my strength was back up to par, despite Mrs. Curtis's worrying and insisting I remain inside for another day.

I pulled on a dark green sweater, unsure of how long I'd be out, and jumped, again not thinking of the consequences, just feeling like I needed to get out.

Once I hit the ground, I started towards where I felt I had first appeared. Cody said it was the midpoint between two cities, and I wondered what the other city was. I sped up, discovering I could go at insane speeds compared to what I used to, and I had amazing stamina.

I wondered what my limits were, but decided not to push it.

Cody appeared alongside me as I ran, keeping me company but not saying anything. I was angry at him for not telling me, angry just because I needed someone to blame. Realizing what I was doing, I switched the blame instead to the Gate of Truth, and left it at that.

'Did you know?' I asked after a while.

'_It was a possibility I considered. Nothing more.'_

'Okay. I won't blame you, then.' I subsided the anger as we reached the field.

As I had guessed, there were strange cuts in the grass. I bet if I had a bird's eye view, I would be able to see that it created an alchemic circle; one drawn specifically to call upon the Gate. Equivalent exchange would have demanded whoever tried to resurrect me, which saddened me greatly. I wonder who it was. Would I have recognized them? Would they have been a mirror image of someone from my world? That would certainly confuse things, but still…

I avoided these thoughts by running past the field, heading towards whatever city was on the other side. It had taken me ten minutes to get here, it would probably take about ten minutes to get to the other town.

I slowed to a regular human pace when I saw the sign. Rush Valley. I got exited, knowing this was the place of automail, and wondering what I would find here. I also knew that it was two train-stops away from Central, but I had no money and wasn't going to steal any, from Mrs. Curtis or otherwise.

I guess it was a good thing I was penniless when a small boy bumped into me. He was a pickpocket, and from the way he scowled at me, he had found out I had nothing on me. I shrugged in apology (don't ask why, I have no idea) and continued into the heart of the town.

Amazingly, I wandered across that little automail shop in an alley, where Paninya and her adoptive father worked. I entered, the shop bell tinkling. The man, I can't remember his name, was sitting behind the counter, working on an automail arm. He didn't look up. Paninya was nowhere in sight, so I decided on just watching the guy work.

Eventually, he glanced up with a grunt. I raised my hands. "Don't mind me, I just wanna watch, if that's okay."

He grunted again, and bent his head.

I think that's a yes.

I concentrated on what the guy was doing for the next half hour, before the shop door opened again and in came Paninya. I must say, I love her clothing choice… I had a pair of pants similar to hers back home.

"Oh, who's this? A customer?" She asked, acting interested, but rather nosy.

"Oh, no, I'm just passing through. I'm Kit." I held out a hand. She took it.

"Paninya. Nice to meet you. So what're you doing in a small shop like ours?"

"Why shouldn't I be here?" Hehe, I loved avoiding questions with more questions. "This place looked interesting, and lo and behold, you have amazing automail. It's so interesting watching it being built."

"It's the best in town!" The girl boasted, flexing her metal arm. "You know anyone who's got automail?"

"Yeah, but I dunno if they'd let me throw around their name casually. And the guy kind of hates me right now…" I muttered the last part, but she still caught it.

"Why's that?"

"Oh, he just thinks I'm something I'm not, and now is disappointed that he didn't kill me." Which brought on another train of thought; there had to be a part of my dead body somewhere, so was it in my last world, or was it a part of the body of the girl who's life I was meant to replace? And again, who am I exactly? Wrath was created to be a son, Sloth was a mother, Lust, a lover, and so forth. So who was I?

Am I still the 'me' I was before I died, or did the personality of whom I was to replace take over?

This worried me.

Paninya snapped me out of my trance of sorts. "You said you were passing through, where're you headed?"

"Well, I'll probably head back to Dublith by this evening, though it'd be entertaining to head to Central. I've never been there, you know. I should get a job and save up for a train ticket!" I suggested exitedly, smiling at her. I felt like I finally had a friend who was my age, and my gender. Someone I could talk to! Yes!

Paninya laughed at me.

"How much is it for a ticket, anyways?"

"A good bit… Say, why don't you stay for lunch, and I'll show you around after?" She said.

Grinning, I agreed. She was a nice person, I liked her.

For lunch we had pasta and a small salad on the side. It was GOOD, Paninya was an excellent cook! We didn't discuss anything important, staying away from our family life and pasts, and simply talked about the present. I told her I was staying with the Curtis family. She told me that the guy, Dominic, was her adoptive father. That was all. At least it was something we generally had in common.

The conversation strayed to what Rush Valley was; the shops, the people, what kind of chumps you want to stay away from. There were plenty of rich bastards who were looking for some rather unpleasant fun, but I told them I wasn't going to stay beyond sunset, which Paninya relaxed at.

I helped my new friend with the dishes, and we headed out. For the whole afternoon, I set myself the task of learning the layout of the Valley. Having Paninya as my guide was the best. Not only did she show me the streets and good shops, but she showed me the neat ones in back alleys, and took me up onto the rooftops, which was amazing. I loved being high but still with something solid under my feet. It was fun, breathtaking at times.

Eventually, the sun began to set. Paninya pointed this out, and I thanked her, and told her I'll come back soon to visit. I sped off towards where I thought Dublith was at human speed, going faster once I was out of sight of the town.

Apparently my sense of direction wasn't as good as I had thought. I had passed two train stations that were practically in the middle of nowhere, and I had arrived at an unfamiliar city within half an hour of setting out from Rush Valley.

"Where the hell…?" I asked myself, wishing some random person would appear and answer my questions without asking any of their own.

Oh wait, I knew someone.

'Cody, where the hell am I?' He was by my side in a flash, and I got the feeling he was laughing at me.

'_It appears you have gone in the opposite direction of your destination. You have arrived in Central, child.'_

"Oh. Oh, dear." I didn't move, just stood in the gateway that practically separated society from… everything else. I raised my arm and scratched the back of my head nervously.

I wondered if I looked out of place, because a random black-haired man walked up to me and asked if I needed any help.

"Oh, not really… I mean, this is Central, right? I'm not entirely sure…" I looked around myself in wonder, trying to solve the problem of getting home. It was getting late, but I guess it was better getting there late than never.

He laughed at me. How rude. "Yes, welcome to Central. You CAN read Amestrian, can't you?" He pointed to the arch above my head. I guessed it said the town's name across it, but to me it looked like odd shapes and lines.

"Uh… well, no."

But if I couldn't read, what language were Mrs. Curtis's books in? Was it English, or was it something that I automatically understood?

The man gawked at me. "You—you can't read? Where did you COME from?"

"Oh, you're welcoming!" I barked. "Just feel free to laugh at any random girl who passes by, why don't you? I never did anything wrong, now did I?"

I realized I was using the same argument as the one I had told Ed about being a Homunculus. Interesting how these things tied together. Regardless, this had little to do with being a Homunculus. This was the man's problem for not accepting that there are some people who can't read Amestrian.

I focused on said man's face. He looked relatively familiar, but had a face that I felt I could easily mix up with someone else's. Nothing about him stood out at all, but there was that gut feeling that Cody told me to follow… And this guy wasn't dangerous. I just knew.

"But really, where do you live, girl?" He asked me.

"Um, Dublith. Why?"

"Well they write in Amestrian there, too. Didn't your parents teach you to read and write?"

"I only live there, I didn't grow up there. Before you ask any more, I'm staying with a nice couple, my parents don't exist in this point in time, and I'm _leaving_." With that, I turned around and walked off, away from the town, feeling the man's eyes on me until I passed over a hill that cut his sight off. Once I felt no one was watching me, I dashed towards the Curtis's house at Homunculus speed, pushing myself a little faster than I had to get here.

I arrived way late. Definitely later than I had wanted. It was 9:30 by the time I had arrived, and Mrs. Curtis was standing angrily on the doorstep, tapping her foot.

"WHERE did you go?!" She shouted, barely giving me time to brace myself. I winced at the volume of her voice, but didn't complain; I knew she was just worried. "Disappearing like that, honestly! At least tell me you're leaving before running off! Did Edward scare you or something?! I thought that you weren't going to come back!" She hit me, hard, in the left cheek, and again in the arm.

"Ow…" I mumbled, "Please calm down!" I told her. I placed my hands on her shoulders. "I'll always come back, okay? I promise." It was a stupid thing to do, promise something like that. But I had grown attached to Mrs. Curtis, and her giant of a husband. They were practically my foster parents. I might as well have been running around calling myself Kit Curtis for good measure.

I gave said foster mother a hug, shushing her. She was almost in tears, and I pulled her inside the house. We passed Ed on the way to the living room. "I blame you," I growled at him. Izumi didn't hear it, thankfully, and I was close to smiling as a look of almost-guilt took over the boy's face.

I sat down on the couch with Mrs. Curtis, and we didn't speak, we just were. I guess it was a 'cuddle moment' that was devoid of the actual cuddling.

But man, this lady was a much better mom than my own genetic one. I couldn't deny it; I could only avoid the truth. And even that would only last me so long, because I knew Truth would come to bite me in the ass some day.

* * *

**A/N: I'm still waiting on more votes. Ed or Envy? I personally lean towards Envy myself, but I could twist the situation any way possible, trust me. **

**My dad made brownies... I was given the honor of licking the bowl. I'm still a child at heart! ;P**

**Moving on. I was just telling Living-Shadow how horribly cold it is here. We earned ourselves a foot of snow just today, to add on to the other two feet previously on the ground since November...**

**Snow-days rule!**

**-HW-**


	5. Chapter 5

_ I knew Truth would come to bite me in the ass some day._

Ed continued to glare at me all the next day. Finally, I snapped, getting tired of it.

"What is your problem?!" I shouted at him in the hallway. He had just passed me, and hadn't turned around as I had. "Seriously, it's like you spend your whole day concentrating on trying to burn a hole through my head with your eyes!"

He didn't speak.

"Gods, you CAN'T fix a problem unless you know what it is, so just SPEAK already!!"

He did. Rather suddenly. "Where were you yesterday?"

"Ah--," I must have blushed, but since his back was to me he didn't see it. I honestly thought he was going to shout at me or something. "I went to Rush Valley…"

"Is that all?"

"Well…no. When I left I went the wrong way and ended up heading towards Central… I didn't go in, though! I left right away, honest!" I was trying rather hard to get this guy's trust. It was a combined effort of gut-instinct again, plus the fact that he was the main character of the series.

"What were you doing in Rush Valley?" He had now turned around and took a few steps towards me, so we were only a foot and a bit apart.

"Exploring." I was getting used to the inquiries, and wasn't thrown off. I knew what was coming.

"Who did you talk to?"

"A girl around our age, and a man who makes automail."

"Names."

"Ask them yourself." I had a grudge on people who would just throw other's names around like it didn't matter, 'cause that's what mainly starts rumours. I knew Paninya's past, but I didn't know if Dominic was being hunted by the military or anything. Adding on to that, I didn't know what point in the anime this was, and so I wasn't sure if Ed had met Paninya yet. "They own a little shop in an alley. Use your wonderful military skills and figure it out."

The next question had a note of hesitation, as if he were admitting something that was extremely difficult. In a way, he was. "You—you're really not going to hurt anyone?"

"Not unless it's self-defense. I'm not going to have some creep try and feel me up without doing anything, right?"

With that, the mood in the hallway lightened a little bit, and we went our separate ways. In this fashion, I learned that although he wouldn't admit it, Ed finally accepted that I was relatively harmless. But I wasn't off his radar yet.

Because I was going to explore Central tomorrow.

Don't kill me! I told Mrs. Curtis that I was going to be gone for a bit. I told her the city, but I didn't have any particular place that I was heading to. The current day, though, was spent running errands; going from the house to the butcher shop to deliver messages, then to the grocery store to buy a few ingredients (I managed to somewhat familiarize myself with the money on the way there) then to people's houses to drop off notes and letters. It was rather busy, and I had no idea why, but it was fun as well. Just having something to do was great compared to sitting in bed reading books all day. It helped that I continually passed Al, who was on the same kind of trip as I usually was, and I would make funny faces to get him to laugh. He was the only one who didn't know that I was a homunculus, and I knew I had to tell him soon, or else he'll blame everyone on not trusting him, and go all emo-kid on us. I hated it when people did that. It was hard to deal with.

So the day went by fast. We sat down for a quiet but comfortable dinner, and I awoke the next day without remembering any dreams I had had the previous night.

Ah, energy! So glad to have you back!

I headed out right after breakfast, knowing that just getting there would take at least half an hour. I was running the whole way, rather than by train or car.

At least I had homunculi speed.

I rushed past Rush Valley (irony!) and arrived at Central quicker than I had thought, a bag slung over my shoulder that held my lunch and the alchemy book, in case I found a nice place to read. Even though I couldn't perform it, it was nice to know what it was and what you could and couldn't do with it. It began to put boundaries around the image I had of alchemists, and made it more realistic. I began to believe that they had probably existed, once upon a time, in our world.

I stood once more under the Central gate arch, realizing that I really couldn't read Amestrian, and wondering what language the book in my bag was written in. If that black-haired man arrived, I would ask him. Until then, it was time to get exploring!

I spent practically the entire morning walking the main streets and getting a hang of the larger setup of the town. It was WAY larger than Rush Valley for obvious reasons, but I ended up searching a few small areas still, wanting to know as much as possible. I found myself creating fight-scene simulations in my head, including who I could possibly end up with, calculating their fighting skill against various enemies (namely, the Homunculi, seeing as their the only ones that pose any real threat) and how well they'd work with other people. Oh, and how I'd slip away from it all. That was the important part.

I wandered out of the back-alley I had just peaked through, only to bump into a man who seemed a little rough, like a woodcutter or something. "You…" he looked at me and pointed with a shaky finger, as if afraid the bustling people would be interested in our little encounter. The guy looked a little unsteady… "I think I know you… yes… you are…"

Suddenly, I was afraid of this man, afraid of the knowledge he held. I didn't want to know who I was created to be anymore; I just wanted to be Kit, plain and simple. I didn't want to take over someone else's life, nor did I want to be a fake human. I just wanted to exist. It was one of those 'why me' moments that main characters seem to have all the time.

My path was blocked rather painfully by another man, but by this time I was way down the road and away from the shaky one. I looked up at the guy I had run into, and recognized him as the person from two nights ago.

"Ah, you!" I said intelligently. I flinched slightly at the pain in my arm—where Mrs. Curtis had hit me—and the man's dark eyes narrowed but he said nothing about it.

"Yes, me. You're back, huh? Now tell me, how did you get the money to pay for two train tickets in such a short amount of time? Someone from Dublith shouldn't have that much money."

"Um… train…?"

He sighed, as if thinking I were some sort of idiot.

"I didn't take the train, I ran here…"

"Huh?"

"Never mind… Uh, can I ask you something?"

He snapped to attention… relatively. He still thought I was a moron.

I pulled the book out of my bag, regardless.

"So, I can't read Amestrian. Then what language is this?" I pointed to a random page in the middle of the book.

"Oh, that's an international trading alphabet. Doesn't really have a name. Most common books are written in this."

"Okay, thank you." I slipped the book back casually.

"You're reading an alchemy book?"

"Yeah, why, do you think I'm too stupid to even try?"

"Er, no--,"

"Then shut it." I guess I was a little touchy about not being able to perform alchemy at all. Ah well, I was a Homunculus. I couldn't exactly die easily. And that makes up for not being able to do sciencey magic.

"I could teach you a bit if you want."

Who was this guy?

"Who exactly are you?"

"Roy Mustang, nice to meet you, kid." He stuck out his hand. I shoved mine in my pockets to keep them from shaking in plain view.

"Uh-huh. Well, teaching would be a bad idea. If I wanted to be taught, I would have asked my foster mother. She's a genius. Now if you'll excuse me--,"

"A genius, huh?"

"Yes, sir, a genius. Now I have to go--,"

"Can I meet her?"

"Not a good idea." My answer was immediate, complete reflex.

"Why not?" He was like a fox…

"She hates dogs." I told him, and laughing on the inside, I marched off.

He was probably wondering how I knew he was a part of the army. Luckily for me, he had the watch chain hanging out of his pocket. Despite the civilian clothes, it all clicked once he introduced himself. Not everyone from this day and age wore wallet-chains… in fact, they weren't even thought of.

Do they even have wallets?

I spent the rest of the day running around town, stopping in a little park at one point to eat lunch and read for a few minutes. Then it was back out again, and I eventually found myself in front of the military headquarters.

I stood there, admiring the incredible and imposing building above me, but hurried on, afraid I'd run into Mustang again.

I ended up looking at a familiar, grand house with tall gates. Nina's house… I moved on. Nothing else seemed familiar after that. The mood had darkened greatly, and I edged my way around alleys rather than entered them. I scaled a wall, which was rather fun, and ended up on the roofs, where I jumped across the gaps for another half hour before I stood near the military building again. The sun was going down, staining the houses an orange-red, and I watched the little blue-clothed people go in and out of the grandiose structure. The pillars out front reminded me of a courthouse. I've never been in one. I didn't really want to, but I did at the same time.

Curosity killed the cat, my mind said.

But satisfaction brought it back again, I argued, but decided to leave the actual building-exploring for another day, and headed to the arch that led back to Rush Valley, then Dublith.

I gazed up at the funky writing spelling out the name of the large city for a moment or two. It was long enough for Mustang to appear, still in civilian clothes.

"What's on your mind?" He asked.

"Just wondering why I can't read it." I answered. "I should probably get someone to teach me."

"…how much do you know?" I knew he wasn't asking about writing and reading.

"Just that chains hanging out of pockets isn't exactly a fashion statement around here."

He grumbled as he fixed that problem.

"…Is that all?"

"Well, no." I decided to get smart with him. "I know my mamma, I know my pappa, I know my siblings. I know names of cities and how to do math and--,"

"Okay, shut up."

I smirked.

"…You would get along great with Elric…"

"No I wouldn't." I responded immediately. He looked up in surprise. I satisfied his curiosity a little. "He's a brat who thinks people can't change, and that everything should go the way he learnt it to be. It's rather idiotic, actually."

"You know him?"

"Barely. His teacher is my foster mother."

He gaped at me. I smiled and waved, walking off. Then I wondered why he had asked about trains when he saw me walk off the other day, too. Maybe tickets were only one-way. Who knows.

And the thinking process started ticking again.

This time I wasn't almost killed for getting home late. Rather, I wasn't late, so I didn't get killed. That sounds better. I shivered as the air got cool and stepped inside, meeting chatting voices and laughter.

"I'm back!" I called, quieter than necessary.

"Kit, we're in the living room!" Mrs. Curtis called. I followed her voice and ended up just where she had said, but there was a different man, another sort-of-familiar face, sitting next to her. They all had drinks in hand, and Ed and Al were nowhere in sight.

"So your name is Kit?" The man asked. He had a warm air about him, something excruciatingly welcome. His hair was brown and spiky and held back by a white band.

I nodded in answer and stuck out my hand, which he shook. "I'm mason. I was the guy who found you unconscious."

"Ah, thanks for that. I probably would have lain there for a few days if you didn't pass by."

"Have a seat, have a drink, talk a while."

And we did so. It was late into the night by the time we finally trekked upstairs to bed, and I didn't even think about changing, but just collapsed into the sheets, yawning. Dreams of strange passageways and confusing architecture haunted my mind.

When I woke up, I was already thinking about the expedition of testing the military's defence. I wondered just how loose they had all become. I also wondered if Mustang had time to give me reading lessons. I wanted to learn the Amestrian alphabet. I changed into a different pair of capris, these ones more faded, and a long-sleeve black shirt that almost hung off the shoulders. Straps crossed my shoulders, holding the shirt up.

So with my bag ready, I set off directly after breakfast (which was late due to the hangovers of the adults, thank god I didn't drink any alcohol) and so my schedule was set back about an hour. I stared at the stone archway again, this time simply admiring the craftsmanship of the strange letters, and hurried on to scramble up to the rooftops.

I hopped along until I came close to the military building, and scouted out the area. I played a make-believe game in my head, where I was an assassin trying to get into Mustang's office. I mused over the idea of befriending Mustang (I felt like we were friends already, but in an abnormal way) and thought of his reaction if I popped in to ask him for reading lessons. Eventually, I may end up having him find out about the homunculus problem, but until then, I wasn't going to worry about it.

I had gotten some money from Mrs. Curtis, and bought a neck-band like thing, that was almost like a collar. It was black cloth that covered the ouroboros tattoo on my neck. To spunk it up a little, a bell was attached to pieces of metal right in the middle of it, reminding me of Train Heartnet's bell from Black Cat. The only issue is that if people remembered to use their ears, they could hear me coming.

I knew, though, that most humans don't even bother to use their _eyes_ properly. So I was relatively safe.

I was discovering that being a different species than my past life was rather enjoyable. I could appreciate the heightened speed and senses (the senses weren't extraordinary, but I didn't need glasses anymore) and my stealth was fun to test. Particularly, the test I was doing right now was to stretch my limits. It was a military facility for goodness sake. If I got caught, I'd have to count on the unreliable Mustang to get me out of there. OR I could just blame my reading skill, and use the man as a witness.

Would that be before or after asking for lessons, I wonder?

I set off. I had decided my route. I was to jump to the second story window in the corner, which was open from a landing in the staircase. From there I would explore to my heart's content, hopefully to find the Colonel's office before I was pulled aside and asked what I was doing there.

Although I was a teen, I was shorter than Ed. It'd be no surprise if someone thought I were no older than 12. Despite my 2 years topping it. I could probably use that to my advantage as well...

I ignored half my random thoughts as I landed on stone, and then decided to head into the corridor of the 2nd floor, guessing that going higher meant the Higher-ups, a.k.a. the really important people. I followed my gut instinct when ducking into closets to avoid said important people as I innocently passed the blue-uniformed men (and the occasional woman) in the halls.

I happily ended up right outside the exact place I was trying to find. I listened in, and figured they were talking about nothing important (something about dogs, which could be in reference to Riza's dog, dogs of the military, or the comment I made the other day). Feeling a bit reckless, I casually opened the door, effectively catching the attention of every member of the room; in other words, Mustang, Havoc, Farman, and Breda all turned in my direction.

"Get out, we're discussing important matters," He said automatically, before realizing who it was.

I waved his sentence aside. "I'm sure dogs are important, but I got something better for ya. Ever think about stepping up the security around here? I mean, I came in through a second story window, passed at least five important-looking people, and probably ten or twenty others, and not a single suspicious glance. C'mon!"

He sighed, apparently annoyed with this interruption. "I don't have time for you, kid. You can leave now."

"Despite that being a clear dismissal, you obviously refuse to believe a 'kid' managed to stroll past your horrible security. Last I checked, the guards at the front gate were drinking soda and playing cards. You must get a lot of action around here."

"Uh, sir, who is this, exactly?" Breda asked.

"Yeah, who are you, exactly?" Mustang repeated.

I realized I had never given him my name at all. "Kit, nice to meet you all." I turned around and made a big show of bowing to them, then spun around again and sat in the closest chair to me. In one swift movement, I pulled out a book—an alchemy book I found in Mrs. Curtis's library that was written in Amestrian—and slammed it down on the Colonel's desk. "And your commanding officer here is going to teach me how to read Amestrian." I proclaimed, not shamed by the fact that I couldn't read or write the native language that I was speaking at the moment.

"You can't read? How old are you, 12?" Havoc inquired.

"I'm not exactly from around here." I answered vaguely, leaning back. "So, Colonel, would you like to resume your conversation on—what was it, dogs?—or would you like to use your free time to educate a poor country girl such as myself?"

"I'd teach anyone BUT you."

"Warming up to me already, I see. Maybe you are unable to read, yourself. That's an interesting fact."

"I can read, kid. Now get out, we have work to do."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Buu! You party pooper! You really CAN'T read, can you? How'd you like that rumour going around the base?"

He grumbled, not liking the idea of his public face being scarred by a measly girl from Dublith. "I'll talk to you later. Go bug someone else." He pulled out a piece of paper and started signing.

"Oh wow, he's actually capable of doing work," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else, though Mustang was getting suspicious. I instead turned my attention to the three other men in the room. "I smell questions." I stated.

* * *

**A/N: I got bored.**

**Random tidbit of info for ya: I go to a catholic highschool, but I'm not catholic. In effect, I tend to skip out on the days the school goes to church, commonly known throughout the student body as Mass days. Michaela is going to kick my ass when I get back on Monday...**

**Other than that, math class (last period) has become interesting. Someone who sits in the same desk as I started writing something depressing, and I just had to retaliate. **

**Here's what they wrote: **

**_There's only hate_**

**_There's only tears_**

**_There's only pain_**

**_There is no love here._**

**I'll tell you what I wrote back to them next time I post.**

**The voting still stands: Ed or Envy? Take your pick!**

**-HW-**


	6. Chapter 6

_I turned my attention to the three other men in the room. "I smell questions." I stated._

"Where're you from?"

"Dublith, right now."

"How do you know Colonel Mustang?"

"He pointed out that I couldn't read a few days ago. In doing so, he had placed himself unknowingly into the position of teacher." The guys laughed. At least they had good humour.

"I'm Jean Havoc, this is Breda, and Farman. Feel free to stop by anytime!" He offered, causing me to grin.

"I would've anyways, if just to antagonize the superior officer over there." I leaned in, as if sharing a secret. "So how often does he actually do his work?"

"He only does it when Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye holds a gun to his head. She's trigger-happy, that one." Farman continued to comprisal tone, and we huddled together as if forming a plan. Really, we were like four old ladies sharing gossip. I learned about everyone in the immediate area, (ex. Havoc can never get a girl for more than three days) and I also learned about Hughes, the man who helped them out a lot from the investigation district, and the terrifyingly sparkly Major Armstrong, of whom I was warned to avoid.

Once I had learned a good handful of random knowledge, I turned to Mustang again. "These men REALLY need discipline," I told him. "They just told me everything they knew about the members in this building. With such information, I could easily assassinate any one of your members."

The men behind me, realizing this, gulped and awaited punishment. It wasn't them who got it, though. At least, as far as I knew.

Because next thing I took note of was that there was a gun pointed at my face. "I want you out, kid. Some of us really DO have work to do."

I didn't hear him.

Because in the moment that a gun was pointed at my face, I remembered. A whole week of memories.

I hadn't died on January 2nd, I had died a week _after_. I didn't remember because I was beaten around by a gang—thankfully, not raped—but they kept me in the cold basement of a derelict building for a complete seven days, and would use me as a punching bag. I must have taken too many blows to the head, and forgotten.

On the seventh day, they shot me.

THAT was how I died.

In the shock of the moment, I ran to the window, just wanting to get away from the murder weapon. I jumped down, not noticing the four men behind me staring in amazement as I landed perfectly and took off, heading for the wondrous back-alleys of Central city.

I spent about 20 minutes just wandering around, trying to clear my head. I had freaked, and ended up pointing out all of my mistakes. Thanks to the band around my neck, there was no reason for them to have seen the orobouros, HOWEVER, I had just jumped from a second story window and landed without injury. That was stupid. They were going to ask questions about that, and my freak-out session next time I was spotted.

I think it's best if I stay away from the military for a while.

On another note, Mustang had triggered a whole set of memories for me to go over. I was horrified at my past. The thugs who had kidnapped me weren't thugs at all; in fact they were some rich people's sons. Their purpose was unknown. I remembered how they always dressed in black, and always looked incredibly awesome, making me feel even smaller. They had beaten me every day, wordlessly, without malice, without any emotion at all. Five people, five beatings a day. Their movements acted as if what they were doing was necessary. They didn't like it, nor did they hate it. Neutral.

I could recall only two of the men's faces, and they were unfamiliar to me. They were like polar opposites, though. One had blonde hair, the other, black. Both well groomed, as I had gone over before.

I suddenly felt like a leftover of war. The memories left such a feeling as if I had been discarded, looked upon as useless, and forgotten. I suddenly knew what it was like to be scared, knew what it was like to face death, to beg for it. I had felt overwhelming pain, I had _hated _someone.

I was suddenly superior to most of the military, in almost every meaning of the word.

I didn't go back. Not once did I think about retracing my steps and heading back to the building and apologizing for my hastiness. I just wanted to avoid the questions, avoid the strange looks, avoid society for once. With this in mind, I sat in a little nook in the wall and curled up, allowing myself to cry in self-pity for the returned memories, and what they brought.

It was in this way that another man found me. This guy looked like he had greying hair. He was tall, fairly strong, and wore sunglasses. The most outstanding feature was a scar in the shape of an X on his forehead, in between his eyes.

Scar, the military had called him. I forgot his real name.

He was wordlessly crouching before me, a hand on my head, as if to ruffle my short hair. I didn't move, waiting for him to speak first. He did.

"This isn't the safest place for a child, especially at this time of day." He told me. His voice held surprising compassion for children. It caught me off guard.

In response, I looked up. The stars were beginning to appear; I had missed sunset due to the narrow alley ways blocking the horizon. For the past exploring expeditions, I had been on the roof of some building or other to see the sunset. This time was a bit different.

"Oh." Izumi was going to kill me.

"Do you have a place to stay?" He asked, knowing what it was like to be homeless.

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry about me, I'll make it home okay. What about you, though?"

"I wouldn't ask such a question if I didn't have a place to stay myself." He paused as we listened to the sound of someone's footsteps echoing through the ceilingless corridor. "I have to go. Stay safe."

"You too." He seemed a little surprised at that, but continued walking away, giving a parting wave. Believe it or not, I liked Scar. After all, all he did was kill the military, not random homunculi on the streets.

This brought me back to the footsteps, which had stopped rather close to me. I looked up in the direction where I last heard them, feeling a presence. There stood Mustang, rather angry and dressed in full uniform. Cody appeared beside me, keeping me company at my request, but staying silent. It wouldn't do any good to confuse me, especially in this state.

I rubbed my cheeks, hoping I didn't have any tear tracks. I didn't take my eyes off the man in front of me, who just stood there. I, as usual in these situations, said nothing.

He held out a hand. "C'mon."

"…Hell no." I stared at the hand as if it were some sort of deadly parasite.

Mustang got more enraged. "And why the hell not?"

"'cause there'll be questions that I don't want to answer." I told him.

"We won't ask anything today. Just come, I got an order to find you." That threw me off. I was actually thinking about going with him. But an ORDER? From who? It was definitely higher up. And Pride was Higher Up. Definitely.

It was the wrong thing to say, on his part.

"That makes it worse."

"Does it?"

"Yup. Who exactly ordered you to do this?"

"Classified information."

That made it certain. In one swift movement I brought my leg up and shoved my foot into his gut. My bell tinkled as I ran away from the doubled-over Colonel, my invisible dog beside me.

Okay, now I was certain I was mentally unstable. First, I have a dog no one else can see. Second, that dog has telepathy, but only speaks to me because he's unable to talk to anyone else. Third, I just kicked a military officer in the stomach and ran off. Now I practically have the entire army after me, because I was completely sure that the Homunculi had discovered my presence and want me on their side.

So, I did the only thing I could do. I scampered my way back to Dublith.

Once there, I found Mrs. Curtis on the doorstep again. Instead of letting her hit me, I ran up and hugged her tight, the only person that actually made me feel welcome. She sat me on the couch as I muttered about evil officers, higher ups with weird eyes, dogs that don't exist, and kidnappers who looked hot.

That just sealed my grave. I was definitely insane. I said so to Mrs. Curtis.

"You're not insane," she whispered comfortingly to me. "You've been through more than most kids your age. That's all." I guessed she understood how I had been kidnapped in my past life, and how I kicked Mustang, though she didn't know who it was that I kicked, and she didn't understand about the dog and the higher up. I guess that was a good thing.

"I now have a fear of guns. That'll get me _far_ in the world," I muttered sarcastically.

'_Child, the man you wounded is planning to arrive here in the next 30 minutes.'_

"Oh shit." I perked up immediately. This was bad. I didn't want to get Mrs. Curtis in any more trouble than she already was, but Mustang knew I stayed with them, and I had told him I lived in Dublith.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Curtis asked.

"Uh, do you have any grudges with the military?" She stiffened. That answered my question. "Well, they're kind of trying to find me, because someone must have alerted the rest of the Homunculi about me, and I told Mustang I lived in Dublith. He also knows that you're the Elric brother's teacher. In my opinion, that's a bit too much info." I didn't mention that my invisible psychic dog told me they were coming.

I waited for Mrs. Curtis to do something. She sprang into action, calling her husband and Mason into the living room, and immediately began giving out orders. All the military needed to do was ask around for the alchemist of the village, or the Elric brothers, and they'd have a lead. So we were going to clean up and say we went on a vacation to the island they owned. I wasn't going to exist, so it'd be like everything I'd said to Mustang was a lie, which would throw them off completely. If they wanted to go to this Island, Mason (who was taking care of the house) would take them there on boat, drop them off, and strand them there without their knowing.

I liked this plan.

It was thrown into effect as soon as possible. I collected all my belongings upstairs, pretty much the Alchemy book, all the clothes Mrs. Curtis had gotten for me, and shoved it all into the backpack that was still slung over my shoulder. I straightened out the bed, trying my best to pluck out any hairs that lay on it that would give me away. I was being very thorough; I didn't want to be found.

The thing we couldn't fix was the people I had seen at the stores while running errands. I didn't say anything about living with Mrs. Curtis, but it was obvious I had existed in Dublith, even for a short amount of time.

We gathered in the living room again. Mason asked where we were going. Mr. Curtis was the one who answered, and it surprised me greatly.

"We're going to live in Central. The place where they least expect it."

I nodded. It was understandable. I raised my hand, as if I were in school. "Uh, can I get a hair cut, then? There are multiple people there who would recognize me right away."

Mrs. Curtis nodded, understanding. We gathered the money and got on the train. Practically everyone knew who Mr. and Mrs. Curtis were, (I remained invisible) and they took every chance they got to say they were going on vacation, out west. We made it onto the train without any obstacles, but it took two hours just to get to the city. About double my time! Trains were SLOW.

As soon as we got there, we found a barber's that was still open and got my hair cut to chin-length. We even tinted it so it had a sort of reddish shine to it. The only thing I was worried about was if my neck-band came off; someone could clearly see the orobouros if that were to happen.

We stayed in a hotel for two nights. Nothing interesting happened within that time, and I was often sent to the restaurant downstairs to get food for us. No one recognized me, and I didn't see anyone recognizable. It was all going smoothly. On the second day, we got a house. In the east part of the city, it was rather grand but didn't stand out. It was the same pure-white tint as the surrounding houses, which gave me the urge to pull out paint and color it like a rainbow.

On the ground floor, there was a fairly large kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and an office. Upstairs there were three bedrooms (mine, Mr and Mrs. Curtis's, and a guest room) and one bathroom. There was no attic, and the roof was flat (yay!). The basement was used for storage, and sort of like an alchemy lab.

When I was first shown the house, Mrs. Curtis created a ladder that lead even further down. Beneath the basement, she had created a sort of survival-house. It held enough food and water for three weeks (for one person), its own septic system, and one bed. There were no windows, and the only entrance and exit was the ladder leading up. She said this is where I'll hide if the military found us.

I asked what she and her husband would do, but she just smiled confidently and said that 'we can take care of ourselves.' I grumbled at this, knowing she was half-insulting me by saying I was incapable of doing anything by myself.

I hate to admit it, but she was sort of right. I _was_ the one who got us into this mess. But no matter how much I blamed myself, I knew it wouldn't change anything, and simply listened to everything she said and did everything she told me. If she told me to hide, I was to hide. There was a button on the inside of the Hole (the survival-room under the basement) that would pretty much seal it from the rest of the world. Unless you knew it was there already, no one would think to look there.

The first eventful thing happened five days after moving in. I had been sent to get groceries. My entire wardrobe had changed from colourful shades to even darker ones, more grey, so that I blended with the background. I also wore glasses to throw people off. The only thing I didn't change was the bell around my neck. It was like a memento of sorts, and we didn't really have any other cloth to use in its place.

So I slunk my way through the crowded isles, picking up the necessary items, when I heard voices. A man and woman. The first I recognized as Roy Mustang, the second was unfamiliar but had a strict tone to it, like an old-fashioned school teacher. They were discussing something rather important.

"We still haven't found her, yet. She must have been lying about living with Fullmetal's teacher, but she was definitely in Dublith. Besides that, we have nothing."

"I'll send some men to check the surrounding areas again."

"Don't bother, she would be long gone by now. I don't understand though. Why would the Fuhrer pass the request to find that kid? And then there's the gun…"

Realizing that I would be seen if I stayed still like that, I hurried along to the cashier and paid for what I had, and rushed home. It was risky, living like we did, in the middle of the people trying to find us. But we managed by remaining paranoid and unsociable. It was for the best.

Thankfully, I wasn't really much of a social butterfly.

It seemed custom that whenever I ran through Central, I'd run into some random male. This time, it was a guy with sharp-looking glasses but an open face.

"Whoa," He exclaimed, "Slow down, you'll hurt yourself."

I adjusted my glasses and avoided eye contact. "Sorry. Won't happen again." I tried to slip by, but he grabbed hold of my arm. I still looked away, just wanting him to let go.

"What's your name?"

"I—uh… Lee. Lemme go."

He obliged, but I was sure he was giving me a suspicious look as I ran off, taking a zig-zagged route back to the house and entering through the back door. I informed Mrs. Curtis of what happened, being sure to mention the fake name I gave. I then said it would be interesting if I gave everyone I met a different name, just to confuse them. I knew that it'd make people think I was prone to lying if they found out, but Izumi agreed, saying it would throw my trail. I just had to remember which people I told what name to.

I then decided that I'd stick with three names. Lee, Kit, and Jamie. The first mentioned was off the top of my head, but inspired by a character an old friend created. The second is obvious. The third is inspired by a friend's boyfriend's name, James, which triggered a thought of Harvest Moon: Magical Melody and how your 'rival's' name is Jamie.

With three, I wouldn't get too confused. Three was a good number, too.

Nothing happened in the next week. I didn't meet anyone new, or see anyone I recognized. Cody would appear and tell me not to go down one way or another, and so I followed his instructions, believing him to be on my side.

'_You lead a boring life,'_ he told me one time.

We were standing on a rooftop.

"Boring? Not really. Sometimes eventless is good. It means safe."

'_There is no excitement. You cannot test your limits.'_

He had obviously found it entertaining when I had decided to invade the military headquarters. This gave me a thought.

"Okay, then, how about I go to the headquarters again. This time, I won't meet anyone familiar, though. I'll avoid everyone I can. Will you help me with that?"

'_Of course. What is the purpose of this mission?'_

"I'm going to try and find the Curtis family in Mustang's files. Figure out why they're being hunted… I think it's because Mrs. Curtis can use alchemy without a circle, but there's something else too…" Fighting spirit was revived in me. I looked towards the sun, and realized it was beginning to touch the horizon. "I'll go tomorrow. It's too late now."

'_Are you sure? It is possible that your friend may have gone home by now.'_

"By friend you mean Mustang? Probably. Now that I think about it, I first saw him before sunset. And now that I know where his office is…" I trailed off, my plan running through my head at top speed as I began to hop over the gaps between houses, Cody keeping pace. "Hey, are you only following because it's interesting? I mean, do you have anything better to do than be an illusion I can talk to?"

'_I am part of a bigger picture that no one can see. Like the way humans once thought the world was flat, no one quite yet knows what it is. In the mean time, it is rather enjoyable keeping you company.'_

"I see… So you have nothing better to do."

'_You could put it that way, yes.'_

"Enough on that, we're here." I saw that the lights in Mustang's office were off, and Cody must have timed it so that the guard shift was about to be switched. The guards themselves were relaxing, knowing they could go home soon. Easy for me to walk in through the front gate without them noticing. From there, I casually strolled up to the side of the building, where Mustang's office was, and scaled the wall in seconds. I peered into the window to confirm that no one was inside, and opened the unlocked pane.

'This is almost too easy. Cody, did you rig this up or something? Am I going to get caught?'

'_I had no hand in setting up your success. I will warn you if anyone comes near.'_

Satisfied for the time being, I hopped in and searched the desk, finding paperwork (unfinished) on the desk, along with a notebook filled with notes. On the most recent pages, I found my name, along with anything Mustang knew about me, little arrows going this way and that, connecting facts that any random person wouldn't have thought of without time to do so. But according to Mason and Cody, they had searched Dublith within the evening, and all through the next day. Mustang shouldn't be underestimated.

Placing the book back exactly where I found it, I went through the drawers of the desk, finding nothing more interesting besides the porn magazines hidden under a sheath of papers. I held in a snicker, saving it's location for blackmail, and moved on to the filing cabinets.

The files were in alphabetical order. Everything was rather tidy, making it easier on me to find the Curtis file.

There was nothing outstanding. Nothing at all. I then reminded myself that this wasn't the Fuhrer's office, and put the papers back. I got an evil idea, after that. I decided to play a prank on them…

Ten minutes later I slipped silently outside of the window, closing it firmly. Cody had said someone was passing in the hallway, and being paranoid due to the current situation, I didn't take any chances.

I fell to the ground without any pain, and continued over the wall and home. The sun was halfway set, and I managed to get home for dinner.

* * *

**A/N: Check my profile for the link of The-Living-Shadow's fanart of Kit. It's so cool! It's the main reason I'm updating.**

**Reviews, please! I get bored! **

**Here's my response to the random-person's depressing poem in the previous Author's Note:**

**_Hate blurs before your eyes_**

**_And the fear disintegrates_**

**_the pain fades,_**

**_and a small light is relit_**

**-HW-**

**Song 1: Sayonara - Orange Range**


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning after breakfast, I headed right over to the military building. I couldn't hear anything, but from the roof I was laying on, I had a clear view of the back of Mustang's head, as well as Hawkeye (who I saw was actually really pretty, but had a can't-touch-this attitude) who stood next to the filing cabinets. Mustang was talking to someone, and then he turned to Hawkeye and said something to her. She turned to shuffle through the filing cabinets, and I covered my mouth for fear of being heard laughing.

For in the next instant, Hawkeye froze. She turned, a murderous look upon her face. She pulled out her gun and pointed it at Mustang, who raised his hands in defence, scared out of his wits. I laughed silently into my hand and left it at that. Shuffling the neatly ordered files around to get Mustang into trouble was so much fun! I decided I would go back the next night, and pull another prank. I wonder what the next one should be… Ideas formed in my head as I sped home. I didn't mention my pranks to Mr. or Mrs. Curtis. Although they would probably get a kick out of it, they wouldn't want me going anywhere near the poorly guarded headquarters.

That night, I snuck in again, the same way I did before. Cody was chuckling next to me the whole time, my view of him changing from some old proper dude into a bored mastermind. It was weird, that a dog was laughing beside me, but I knew no one could hear him but me.

I shuffled through Mustang's desk again, finding just the item I needed, and continued to work my plan. The next morning I stood on a different rooftop, still watching from afar. I remarked to Cody how it would be nice to have sound, but he couldn't do anything about that.

Starting with Hawkeye and Mustang, people began to enter the office. Seeing as there were desks for Mustang's subordinates as well, it played right into my plan. Mustang sat down first, telling his men to be at ease, and they followed his lead.

They didn't stay seated for long. Several jumped up, rubbing their behinds, while others examined their seats and found pins hidden in the cushion. Everyone turned to Mustang, the only one who didn't have a pin on his seat. Riza pulled out her gun.

Snickering, I ran off.

No one caught me that evening as I carried out another plan. This time, I took all of Mustang's unfinished paperwork and spread it out to the other's piles. I also stole their good pens and hid them in Mustang's desk. Finally, to finish it off, I pulled out a certain screw in all their chairs (exempting, of course, Roy's seat.) then dashed out, laughing as I jumped from roof to roof, making it in time for dinner.

Mrs. Curtis knew I went out every evening, almost religiously. I knew she knew, and I was grateful she didn't ask any questions. It brought up a question of my own, though. How long could I get away with this? They'll probably post a sentry in the office at night now.

With that in mind, I began creating plans that would lead the sentry out of the room so I could work my magic. I felt like chuckling along with Cody as we headed once again to watch the effects of my mastermind in the morning.

The men were outraged. They noticed their pens were gone, and when they sat down, their chairs collapsed. I had placed the missing screws in Mustang's desk, and they found them, along with their pens, while they dumped their paperwork into his bin. He was clearly insisting that it wasn't him; that someone set him up.

Havoc said something that made Mustang get a devilish look on his face. He said something, and I took that as my cue to leave. I had a feeling a sentry will be placed in the office tonight, but who, I had no idea.

I did know how to get them out, though.

It was the Colonel himself who decided to stay the night in his office. I found it funny how he was losing sleep to catch a prankster, of all things. Either way, I cued Cody. Yes, I got him to help this time.

Dogs flooded the hallways. 'The irony,' I thought, as they barked and nipped at each other, running around in circles and heading for an unknown destination. 'Dogs in a building made for them.' Cody laughed at this, and I watched as Mustang stuck his head out the door, bewildered at the event in the halls. The dogs, which were able to speak to Cody, were told to drag him out into the hall and use him as a chew-toy. This gave me the opportunity to jump through the window (the lock must be broken, because they never seem to fix it) and I flexed my fingers, ready to set to work. I had a good ten minutes, in which I worked only at the subordinates desks, avoiding Mustangs. After all, what better time to set Mustang up when he was the one who stayed the night?

Finally, there was an off-sounding bark from outside, and Cody said his friends couldn't hold the man for much longer. I told him to let Roy go as I hopped out the window and over the wall.

My plan didn't show itself 'til next morning, and the way Mustang didn't notice until then was sort of part of the plan. After all, if he noticed, what kind of prank would that be?

What I had done was glued the paperwork together. But it wasn't just stuck front to back, no; I had glued it so that it reminded me of those post-it notes, where you pick one up and the rest follow, the sticky ends alternating from one side to the other. As was custom, only Mustang's desk was left untouched.

Mustang himself had dark circles under his eyes from his strange night. He must have tried to explain what happened to the men, but they didn't buy it.

That night, the sentry was switched. It was Farman this time, who stayed overnight. I watched for his reaction as he heard mewing in the halls. Just like mustang, he stuck his head out, and a large cat jumped for him, causing him to move farther into the hall, away from the office. I mimicked last night's actions, this time heading for Mustang's desk.

I pulled out the porn magazines and laid them open on his desk. I then covered them with the finished paperwork, so when Hawkeye came in the next morning, she would try to clean up the desk but instead… I laughed outright at my plan, then shut up, remembering Farman was right outside.

With time to spare, I left the premises. 'Hey Cody,' I said, 'How did you get cats? I thought you could only talk to dogs, and aren't dogs and cats mortal enemies?'

'_I am a friend to the feline species. I had done them a favour in the past. And I am not like a normal dog, now am I?'_

"…true."

The next prank I went and bought supplies. I was getting right into this; the only thing that was relatively interesting was laying out traps and watching them fall. Anything in between was working towards preparing for it.

I had gotten the Amestris-equivalent of glue. I say it like that because it didn't dry well. In fact, it didn't dry until it was completely covered, and you couldn't see it easily. This worked excellently for me as I spread it on the handle of the phone. I also took some charcoal and coloured the ear-piece of the device, as well as the seats of all chairs.

The next day the Colonel's men were walking around with large black spots on their rear ends, and the Colonel himself had to incinerate his phone which had gotten mysteriously stuck to his hand and a black spot on his ear as an addition to on his butt. That evening, everyone but Hawkeye stayed overnight.

This caused some trouble for me, but I had been prepared. I got Cody to use his connections in the animal kingdom to allow both dogs and cats (and even a few birds) to lure the men into the cafeteria, which bought me loads of time as the intelligent mammals locked the army-dudes in.

I created the ultimate trap. Each man had brought a spare uniform to change into in the morning, and I used this to my full advantage. I took the pants and replaced them with multiple blue mini-skirts, and I took sharpies and scribbled vulgar words all over the stolen pants, that were later hung in all the front windows of the second story. I then removed the screws in the chairs again, this time not missing anyone. A few stray cats wandered in and planted a couple 'bombs' under the desks (making the room smell something awful) and I glued the porn magazines all over the walls. I also pulled out the pizza box—remnants from the guys' dinner—and let it sit on Riza's desk, crumbs scrambled across everyone else's. The room now resembled a bachelor's pad, somewhat. Next thing I did was pull out a cheap camera and take pictures of the place, making sure to leave the evidence that it was Colonel's office and not some random room set up to look like it on Riza's desk as well. I'm sure she'd put it to use.

I hung outside the window for a few moments, watching as the men wandered back in, tired and annoyed at the animal fiasco. They didn't even notice the changes in the room as they took their seats, falling asleep almost immediately.

I let myself back in, pulling out a black marker, taking the liberty to scribble on their faces before setting one hand on the windowsill. I took a final picture before I swung myself back out and over the wall, wondering if I should leave it as a grand finale and not pull pranks again.

More options formed in my head. I was going to drop the pranks; I was running out of ideas. I was, however, going to leave riddles instead. My evenings were too fun to even think of stopping. The next morning I watched the excitement of the male members being shot at by Hawkeye, and laughed openly, seeing as it was my last prank. I was celebrating, so to speak. I slipped a riddle through the window pane when no one was looking, but they found it and puzzled over it all night.

The first riddle: Brad stared through the dirty soot-smeared window on the 22nd floor of the office tower. Overcome with depression he slid the window open and jumped through it. It was a sheer drop outside the building to the ground. Miraculously after he landed he was completely unhurt. Since there was nothing to cushion his fall or slow his descent, how could he have survived the fall?

The answer: he was outside the window.

The guys couldn't solve it, so I left the answer with the second riddle.

Riddle #2: He has married many women, but has never been married. Who is he?

This one they had actually gotten. It was easier than the first, and they ended up sticking the answer on the window with a piece of tape. It read: A preacher.

The third riddle was poking fun at the men, and Riza got a kick out of it. "Four men were in a boat on the lake. The boat turns over, and all four men sink to the bottom of the lake, yet not a single man got wet! Why?"

The answer was that all men were married, none were single.

The next riddle was symbolism towards myself that they will never figure out. It wasn't funny, but it was rather interesting. No one in the office could get it, so I left the answer with the following riddle.

What is the question you can never answer?

"What's it like to be dead?"

Most unfortunately, I could answer that question.

The fifth riddle was definitely fun for me to puzzle them with. Again they couldn't get it, and I had to give them the answer. "What's greater than God, more evil than the Devil, the rich want it, the poor have it, and if you eat it you die?"

"Nothing. Nothing is greater than God, nothing is more evil than the Devil, the rich want nothing, the poor have nothing, and if you eat nothing you die."

They started calling me Sphinx. Maybe because the sixth riddle was the Sphinx's riddle. Maybe because half the riddles I knew weren't that easy to answer. I started using riddles I had found in books: namely, Bilbo Baggins and Smeagle's riddles.

_What has root nobody sees,_

_Is taller than trees,_

_Up, up it goes,_

_And yet never grows?_

A mountain is the answer.

The military men started asking their own questions. It was very straightforward, though, not at all crafty in any way. I answered in the best form possible, in confusing sentences and of course, riddles. 'Who are you?' Was the first question they asked.

I replied with an incredibly interesting riddle.

_I'm often seen around a lot, referred to many ways,  
See me black and you may find misfortune haunts your days.  
Tell a thing, that should have been kept quiet, to all around,  
Then look inside the sack, there I'm no longer to be found.  
Nosiness, prying, snooping, leaves me fearing, full of dread,  
For all these things are likely to see me soon lying dead.  
These clues combined should start to give a picture, an idea,  
Of who or what I am, so can you tell me? Is it clear?_

They didn't quite get it, so I sent them the second part. Each time I dropped something off, I sprang up to the roof immediately. As I did this, I noticed how my bell tinkled once, causing a mysterious effect that, once again, reminded me of Black Cat and got me to give such a riddle. For the answer was this:

_If you thought those clues lead to a cat then happily you're right,__  
__For bad luck is yours when a black cat should come across your sight.__  
__And when you reveal a secret, even though you said you wouldn't,__  
__You've let the cat out of the bag by telling what you shouldn't.__  
__Nosiness, prying, snooping and inquisitiveness, oh drat!__  
__They make up curiosity, which, we all know, killed the cat!_

I laughed when I slipped it through and heard their wordless responses. Never would I give them a straight answer, but still, they asked their blunt questions. The next was: how old are you? Let me tell you, I had fun with that one.

_For years, I have lived, wondering of my age._

_Once I thought, am I a sage?_

_Under the stars, I found my answer._

_Really, does age quite matter?_

_Time does pass, that we know_

_Eternity I have, though it does not show._

_Entertain me, with the time you have,_

_No more than to age a knave._

It was entertaining to make that one up. Inspired by a riddle I saw online once, the answer isn't clear but is at the same time. I wasn't sure who got it, but someone noticed the answer.

This was the response I gave them:

_If you did not click _

_The years off at a flick_

_Of my mind so sharp and keen,_

_If you did not see fourteen;_

_My words merely distracted you,_

_The answer lay in plain view, _

_In the form of the first letter of each line,_

_And to the ones with observant eyes,_

_I hope we will meet once, under these skies._

They stopped asking questions, and instead puzzled over the words I sent them. Eventually, they left the window open and someone stayed in the room over night, switching off at one point. Annoyed, I didn't give them a riddle.

I decided that they were probably getting into a routine, and decided to send them something different. The last riddle, so to speak. If they got it, then… Either way, I wasn't going to send an answer to it, so they'd be guessing for ages.

_We are many guards of a precious gate  
Sometimes we lean backward and sometimes we stand straight  
Some of us are short and some are tall  
We never quit the fight but we might fall  
We wear red war paint and cover in black  
We sometimes defend but mainly attack._

_So, now, tell the answer to this rhyme;  
Come on, come on, it is about time!  
If you think hard, it won't be long -  
'Til I won't have to speak in song._

Pretty much it was describing a homunculus. We were varied; tall, short, leaning over, etc. I knew from the episodes that they never stopped trying to become human, and they—rather, we always dress in black. The war paint would be the ouroboros. I loved the bottom of it; I wasn't going to send them any more, but I would check up from time to time to see if they'd posted their answer.

Twice the answer was wrong. First, they hadn't guessed at all. Then they put the name of some animal. Then I witnessed Riza pinning up the next answer; bacteria. Where were they getting this? I guess it was easier for me because I knew what the answer already was. Either way…

I noticed they had pinned up all the riddles I had sent them onto a bulletin board. I was flattered by this; it must have been interesting for them, and a relief not to get pranked all the time. The military members continued to go about their day, barely interrupted. I did nothing interesting, but for three nights I went out to watch the evening activity from the rooftops.

On the third night, it was rather scary. Just as Mustang was getting ready to leave, the Fuhrer himself entered the room with a few men of his own. The remaining people saluted as the man addressed the Colonel.

The Furher looked out the window, and my bell tinkled as I ran off, hoping he didn't see me.

I remained in the house for a full day following that. I was too afraid to go out. It was certain that I didn't want to be found out by the rest of the Homunculi, and I was pretty sure that the Furher was the one who ordered Colonel Roy and his subordinates to search for me. But how did they know I existed? It was all so confusing… Envy couldn't have seen the ouroboros, could he?

I switched my line of thought; such things weren't really under my control, as much as I wished they were. Mustang could have been a friend, but instead I spend my days trying to not get seen by him or any of the other military members. Besides that, I hadn't seen Ed or Al in a long while; they must not know that the Curtis's and I had moved. I guess it was for the better. As much as the boys loved their teacher, they'd probably not care either way if I were to get caught, and might even put effort into finding me. This pained me, but I knew it was true. Ed practically still hated me, and even worse, Al didn't know. Unless Ed told him. Which he probably hadn't.

I checked the bulletin board the following evening. They had a whole shitload of notes on the final puzzle, and some were getting close. There were pictures drawn too, but it was difficult for them because they didn't know my gender, height, or any defining features. So all they had was a human-shaped figure in black, with stripes painted on the cheeks and some weapon or other in hand.

I did something drastic and rearranged the board for them. They were sure to notice, but it wasn't the order I had put things, but the shape I had made them form.

Ouroboros.

I then felt like leaving a parting message, and pulled out a marker and drew a smiley face in the centre, leaving immediately after.

* * *

**A/N: I got more reviews than expected, and so you all deserve a chapter. The riddles were fun to find. My favorite would be the one that answered her age, 'cause I had to make the first verse myself to fit the way I wanted... **

**So here's part 3 in the poem-wars of 4th period: **

**_Staring out to the world across the street,_**

**_you hate the way your life has turned out to be_**

**_He's pulling up in the driveway and you don't make a sound_**

**_'Cause you always learned to hold the things you want to say_**

**_ You're always going to be afraid._**

**Personally, I think the person is very depressed, but I can sort of relate to the second-last line... Part four will be with the next chapter!**

**-HW-**

**Song 2: Breakdown, Plain White T's**


	8. Chapter 8

_I then felt like leaving a parting message, and pulled out a marker and drew a smiley face in the centre, leaving immediately after._

I checked back in the morning. Three people were gathered around the board. Mustang, Farman, and another black-haired dude who seemed familiar, but I couldn't tell because I was looking at the back of his head. I watched for a bit as they pulled the image apart after examining it. I didn't know if they had figured out the message, and I probably would never know. Either way, I sat myself down on the edge of the roof, knees pulled up to my chest as Cody sat beside me.

Mustang sat in his desk, as did Farman. The other man turned around and placed a hand on the Colonel's desk, leaning over conspiratorially.

I then recognized him as the man I had run into that one day in the market. He was rather persistent, him… he couldn't be Hughes, could he? I stayed there by childish interest, wishing I could hear what they were talking about. I pulled the hood on my black sweater up as a gust of wind passed through, causing my bell to jingle a tad.

Hughes looked up, straight at me. I didn't move, pretending to be a chimney of some sort. Despite my stiffness, I still felt that he knew that I was the girl he had run into that day, and he knew I was something different.

I did the only thing I could to escape his gaze, and jumped from the roof, blending into the alleyway beside me. Hughes sprung into action, leaving the office immediately, but I didn't see anything beyond that; I was already running.

I went towards the west, crossing behind the HQ and not looking back.

I then thought of a plan. It was still morning, so I had lots of time. I went from the west part of the city to the south, heading for the arch with Central that I couldn't read.

Someone was there. In the shadows, Cody told me, so I wouldn't see him. I guessed it was Mustang; he must have sent his men to guard the gates on Hughes request. Now they all knew I was something special, something to pay attention to.

I paused in the nearest alley, wondering what kind of action I should take now. I didn't know how to fight, but I was practically invincible and couldn't hurt myself without healing seconds later. Roy also could overpower me, though, and their goal wasn't to kill me but to capture me and ask questions.

I took off my glasses and placed them on a garbage can next to me, counting on my speed for this. And I ran, towards the gate and the man in the shadows.

He didn't notice me coming, and so I pretty much got a head start. I surprised him by heading directly towards him, preparing to attack. Still, the man had more power than me, and although I was fast, I was rather weak. I used my self-defence knowledge to avoid his lunges. He had moved into the light, and I saw that I was right; it was Mustang.

"Yo." I greeted, an angry grin on my face.

"Kit? Why you?" He asked, as our fight continued. Dodge, kick, dodge again, aim for the knees, and so on. I felt like I actually knew what I was doing, which was strange.

"Why don't you ask you precious Fuhrer?"

"What does he have to do with this?"

"He ordered you to find me, didn't he?"

"No, that was a request from Fullmetal. The Fuhrer heard about it and decided to ask about it, but nothing else happened."

"It was ED? I'm going to KILL HIM! Actually, that would be a bad idea, and just proving his beliefs. Either way, the Fuhrer is bad news; do me a favour and don't mention me to him, okay?"

"Any particular reason why?" He grabbed my fist and spun me around, my bell tinkling as he locked me in his grip. I struggled, but couldn't get loose.

"I don't want to be like _them_." I said. I had thoroughly confused him, and the venom in the last word threw him off enough for his grip to weaken, and I ducked out of his arms, aiming a kick to his gut. He gasped for air. "Sorry, Mustang. But please believe me when I say I'm not at all evil, no matter what Ed says." I knocked him over the head, effectively making him unconscious, and I scampered off through the gate to Rush Valley.

I felt bad about leaving Mustang like that. I really did. But there was nothing I really could do. He now has a strong hint that I was staying in the city the whole time, or at least visiting daily. It was dangerous even staying in the same area, but since I needed time to figure out what to do (I couldn't go back to the Curtis house) and where to go. I told Paninya I was going to visit her sometime anyways, and I promised myself while I was running that I would tell her everything.

And so I did. I arrived at the automail shop around 10am, and told her everything that happened, excluding the fact that I was a homunculus. She got a kick out of the pranks I had pulled, but wondered why I was being chased by the military.

She suggested I go to the town that was barely even noticed by the military, which just so happened to be Resembool.

I questioned this, but I recognized that I wasn't exactly in a position to argue, and I didn't know the area too well. Maybe she was right, and Resembool really was the place to go. The only thing I was afraid of was the Elrics finding me there. I would be sure to avoid the Rockbells, and—

"Dominic knows the Rockbells, you could probably stay there for a bit."

"…Come again?"

"I said--,"

"Rockbells?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"There is. The Rockbells are practically family to Edward Elric. Edward Elric is in the military. If you were listening earlier, I said the military was trying to find me."

"…I see."

"Yes."

"I'll come with you then, and we'll stay in the Inn for a couple nights. I've got money. It'll be like a sleepover!" She seemed exited. I reminded myself that she probably didn't have many female friends.

"Okay, Metal-limbs. Uh, I don't suppose I'd be able to send a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, would I?"

"You can write one when we get there, 'kay?"

"Sure."

"Dominic!" Paninya called. "I'm going out for a few days, I'll be back in a while." She grabbed a few changes of clothes, stuffed them into two bags (I thought this was strange until she handed one to me and said I could keep it) and snagged her money purse before we headed towards the train station.

There were at least eight stops between Rush Valley and Resembool. It took a good while to get there, at least 8 hours. We kept ourselves busy playing cards and telling random stories (I told her about Charlie the Unicorn, which she laughed loudly at, catching the attention of half the people in the train car). We bought sandwiches from the diner-car and ate in our seats, and we eventually fell asleep, each on our own bench.

A nice man with a welcoming expression shook us awake and told us it was the last stop of the day, Resembool, and we hopped off the steam-engine.

The town was way smaller than I had imagined. People lived above the tiny shops they owned, and those shops were the bare minimum necessary. Most of their goods were imported or handmade, which forced me to be amazed at the people who wanted to survive out here. Then again, there was loads of space for farming, so it was rather profitable.

The in was small, but cozy. The innkeeper greeted us personally, and knew us by name right away, which was a little creepy how she memorized it so fast (Paninya wasn't exactly a common name) and showed us to our room.

I wrote a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Curtis immediately, which I was going to give to the innkeeper in the morning. It would go on the train and arrive at Central then. In the meantime, Paninya and I hung out in the hotel room. She commented on my new accessory, my bell, and made fun that I was like a little kitty, and called me so for the rest of the night instead of Kit. I tried to correct her, saying that Kit was short for a word that meant fox, but she wouldn't listen. She was great company.

I woke up to a scream. They had found me… how? Then I saw who held my friend at gunpoint, and realized that the man who had woken us on the train had also followed us to the inn.

"Who the hell are you?!" I demanded.

"Denny Bloch. I have orders from the Fullmetal Alchemist to take you into custody by whatever means necessary."

"That damn kid… Did he tell you why?" I asked, hoping this would work.

"H-he said you were a dangerous criminal." This guy was telling the truth, that was for sure.

"…How old do I look, Block?"

"Uh, it's Bloch, and… I'd say 12?"

"Honestly, I'm fourteen, and I've never done anything. The Fullmetal guy thinks that I'm like a certain group of people, and can't accept that I'm different. Now if you don't mind, could you put my friend down?" Paninya looked scared out of her wits by now. Bloch wasn't exactly a very good military man, though, because he did as I said. "Want some tea?" I offered.

I chatted with Denny Bloch for a while. I let him get to know me a bit as the immature teenage girl that's seen just a bit too much. He didn't know any of my secrets, and I didn't dare mention anything that could tip him off, but he was good company. Paninya tried to fall back asleep, so we moved down to the dining area downstairs, where we talked over apple cider and hot chocolate. I told him of the pranks I pulled on Mustang and his men, which got a laugh, as it always did, and gave him a few riddles to puzzle over.

We were both laughing when the door to the inn opened. We didn't look over, feeling safe in our little corner.

"Okay, here's one that they didn't get, I had to give them the answer: what has roots that nobody sees, is taller than trees, up, up it goes, yet never grows?"

The worst voice I could have possibly heard at that moment answered from behind, followed by the clicking of a gun. "A mountain."

I turned around, the smile turning into one of annoyance and slight fear. "M-Mustang! How nice of you to join us. Pull up a chair!"

"I don't have time for games, Kit. You're a homunculus, aren't you?"

The smile was wiped from my face. I sighed. "I'm different, though." I told him.

"How so?"

Bloch was now thoroughly confused by what was going on.

"I remember my past, for one. I had an older brother. My parents were divorced. I died by a gunshot to the head."

"That's why you jumped out of a second story window?"

"Er—about that… well, yeah. You're good at this."

It was rather intimidating, actually. I stood up, and Mustang cocked his gun, prepared to shoot.

"You're going to have to come with me, you know."

"I'm going to stay away from Central, you know."

"And why is that?"

"I don't like the Furher."

"Any particular reason why?"

"There is, actually."

"…And?"

"Escaping fate?"

"What do you mean?!"

I smiled sadly at him. "I don't suppose you're going to teach me how to read anytime soon, are you?" I asked.

"Answer my question!! I have men waiting outside, don't even think of running!"

"Sorry, man. Apparently since Fullmetal doesn't trust that there can be exceptions to any rule, running is keeping me alive right now."

Mustang shot me.

* * *

**A/N: Voila. I've lost the sheet that I've recorded the poem-war on, so I'll add the next section in the following update. Which will be on Thursday, if I have any say at all.**

**Lemme tell you this, though. I hate Tuesdays.**

**In the meantime, here's a prayer that I wrote. I'm not Catholic, so use this prayer for whatever you wish:**

**_/Burn a candle for those who are lost_**

**_Let the light guide them back with clear heads_**

**_to safety, and let them realize that _**

**_what they have is so much more _**

**_than meets the eye/_**

**I never used to be poetic. I guess it comes with puberty?**

**Kidding!**

**-HW-**

**P.S. Everyone thank Mickay, she got me a notebook for X-mas! Now I have a journal again! I used to have one, but then I lost it. I have something to write in again! **


	9. Chapter 9

_

* * *

_

Mustang shot me.

It hurt, but the bullet fell to the floor seconds later as my forehead healed.

I went ballistic. I did NOT like guns, particularly when they're pointed—and shot—at me. I smacked the Colonel on the head, and hit Bloch on the back of the neck, effectively knocking them both out. I then headed upstairs, grabbed my bag, scribbled a quick note, and left the letter for Mr. and Mrs. Curtis with Paninya. I hopped out the window and onto the closest roof, getting as far away as possible. I wasn't sure in which direction I was headed, I was just scared; I never wanted to be shot at again.

Cody appeared at my side. I started yelling at him, crying.

'Where the hell were you? You could have told me Mustang was on his way, you know!! It would have been REALLY useful!'

'_I apologize for my absence, child. As I have said before, I am part of a bigger picture. I cannot by with you all the time.'_

'I still blame you.'

'_This I understand. Calm yourself and think rationally; you are currently headed in a north-east direction, towards East City.'_

'Anywhere's fine right now. I just got to avoid the military for a while.' My course changed from roof to field as I ran. It was about an hour later that I reached a city. Too tired to find a place to stay (I had left the money with Paninya) I simply found a comfy hidden crook in a wall and fell asleep. Which was strange, because I used to never sleep anywhere but a bed, but here I was, on the streets.

I woke up to darkness. I then realized that I was facing the wall, and turned around and untucked myself. I walked around for a bit, unsure of what to do, not knowing where to go. I went this way and that, exploring East City, yet being completely lost at the same time. I was hungry. What the hell was I supposed to do? I sat down behind a building, longing for Mrs. Curtis to come out of nowhere and offer a warm breakfast, but I knew it would never happen.

A familiar face filled my vision. It was Scar… what was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be ruthlessly murdering the dogs of the military in Central right now?

"Hungry?" He asked.

I nodded my head yes, my bell jingling. He offered his hand and helped me up, leading me down one street, and then another. I watched the people as we went by. No one looked like they wanted to be bothered. It was hot and sticky, yet there were people wearing full hoods and everything.

I wasn't really one to talk. I was sweating under my black sweater. The hood was still up, but I didn't dare take it down. Instead I distracted myself by asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm following someone." He answered.

"I see."

Awkward…

Eventually we went down under a bridge, and then we were suddenly underground. I couldn't even remember when we switched from sky to stone above our heads, but it happened. A few minutes later, I heard voices, followed by smells. Some of the smells weren't at all pleasant, but there was the smell of bacon and toast. It made my mouth water. Was I allowed to have some?

We rounded a bend, and suddenly it was a large cavern. People filled about half the space, the other half was filled with tents and bedrolls. Refugees? By a wall close to the entrance where we came in there were people lined up, cooking and shovelling food onto plates. The plates I expected to be paper, but they were plastic. I guess it's cheaper that way, in the long run. And they don't break as easily as ceramic or china.

Scar pulled me into the line up, and got us a plate of toast and bacon each, along with a cup of apple juice. We found a place on the ground where we sat quietly and ate.

"Thanks," I said.

"I thought you had a place to stay."

"I did. Past tense, now."

"Any reason?"

"Yeah. Starts with an M and ends with ilitary."

"I see. What'd you do?"

"Exist." At that he gave me a weird look which was softened by his sunglasses. Remembering why he wore them, I took the time to look around me. The people seemed to all have dark skin and strangely coloured eyes. They were all Ishballans… So why did Scar bring me here? Shouldn't he be afraid that I would spill the location to the military? He didn't know that they were trying to catch me until I told him just now, so it made no sense.

"Why'd you bring me here? How'd you know I wasn't going to tell anyone about it?"

"I didn't know. Some people just have that look about them. Almost as if they'd been blessed."

I let out a harsh laugh. "Blessed. Never been called that before," I remarked. I wasn't religious in the slightest.

"Why's that?"

"I dunno. Ask the people trying to capture and/or possibly kill me. They might have an answer."

He laughed. It was different; he never laughed in the anime, he was always too serious, as if he didn't have time for fun. It was deep and rather comforting. I smiled, happy he could at least laugh.

"Got any family?" He asked.

"Once upon a lifetime." I told him. "You?"

"I had a brother. He died a while ago."

"Ah." I wasn't one to apologize when they tell me someone close to them died. After all, it wasn't really my fault. "Were you close?"

"We were."

We finished breakfast in that fashion. Blunt questions, short answers. We got along that way, and I ended up pretty much hanging out there for the morning, playing with the kids that ran around.

Just before lunch, a skinny man ran in, shouting about something in a foreign language. Whatever it was, it got everyone into an uproar, packing in a hurry. I turned to Scar.

"What did he say? What's going on?"

"The military is coming. Everyone is going to leave through a hidden exit."

"Okay. Make sure everyone gets out as fast as possible, I guess." I helped the kids pack their stuff together, and rushed them out through the entrance before the adults. Next I helped those who were slower, or had more to carry. These people were going to stick together no matter what, and I had respect for them with that.

I went back to the place I entered through with scar, and heard footsteps.

Something sprung up in my mind.

I sprinted towards the bend and turned around it, deliberately not watching where I was going and running straight into someone.

"That was almost too easy," Mustang said, grabbing my arms so I couldn't get away. He had at least ten men behind him. I put up a struggle, but barely hurt him. All on purpose. I had used myself as a diversion so they wouldn't find the Ishballan refugees. I was someone they were looking for, anyways, although it wasn't clear if they'd come down here for me or for the refugees.

"Lemme the hell go!" I shouted at him, trying to bite him or something. Someone came up and shoved a black cloth bag over my head, only making me struggle more, and this time blindly. They tied up my arms and legs, and someone finally knocked me out after my foot connected with flesh.

* * *

I woke up to darkness. It wasn't that pleasant, let me tell you. There was cold stone underneath me, and my hands were still tied up. When I moved my feet, they were connected to chains. I didn't have the bag over my head anymore, it was just incredibly dark, and uncomfortably damp. Because of my limited vision, I couldn't get a hold on where I was.

"Maybe _this _is why they're all after the guy." I said, referring to the homunculi after Ed. "Because he locks them up in dark pits and makes them go insane."

I wondered what I would say to Fullmetal next time I saw him. Something along the lines of, 'hey, thanks for ruining my life, it's been a great time!'

I found it extremely hard to believe that the guy had been my idol at one point. When I had first found out that I had come to Amestris, I was ecstatic about the possibility of meeting him. NOW look where my 'idol' had landed me. The Pit of freaking Despair.

I don't know how long I was in said Pit of Despair, as I so dubbed it. It was a long while, and my stomach was growling intensely. Do homunculi get hungry? I can remember seeing Wrath eat in the anime, but I can't remember seeing any others besides Gluttony shovel anything down their gullet besides red stones.

I dazed in and out, my hunger eating away at my stomach. I was used to the pain though. The only thing that worried me was that I needed to go to the washroom. My hands were behind my back, and my feet were chained to the floor, and it was pitch black. Only one thing to do.

"Oy," I called. "Anyone there? I need to take a piss!"

No answer.

"OYYY!!"

A light flickered on somewhere. It was like a skinny little pinprick of light, but someone had heard me.

I found out as the person got closer that I was definitely in a jail cell. There wasn't any toilet, though. The person with the light turned out to be a very ugly man whom I did not like. He was wearing a military uniform, which wasn't a surprise at all.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, and unlocked the cell, roughly dragging me out and up some stairs. We were underground. The only way I could tell besides that gut feeling was how there were no windows and the air was all musty.

I was shoved into a less-damp cell than the previous one. This one had an alcove with a toilet and sink, where I quickly did my business, disturbed that there wasn't a separate room for that kind of thing. Getting the feeling that they wouldn't let me out of this room any time soon, I sat down in the corner and rested my head against the wall.

At least the floors were comfier…

This is all Edward Elric's fault.

* * *

My eyes snapped open as sounds of explosions reached my ears. Debris feel upon me, along with a large chunk of wall, but I shoved it off to see who had invaded the room I was in. It had been a long while since I was first shoved into this cell, so long that I had lost track of time. I felt horrible; my hair was greasy, I was pale, way thin because they didn't feed me, and I probably smelled bad too. This was all ignored as I looked up and saw hair. Was this Envy? I didn't bother to analyze the chances that it was, which definitely showed what this room had done to me. I was filled with so much anger towards the blonde guy who'd stuck me there, and I'd gone insane from sitting there, alone with my thoughts, day after day, with no sense of time.

Nothing was in its proper place anymore.

Wind drifted in through the large hole that the invader had created, which had once been a good chunk of wall and ceiling.

I didn't move, despite the chances of escape. Nothing registered, even when the person with long hair scooped me up and slung me over his back, piggy-back style. My mind was blank, but I felt the need to hang on to the guy as he leaped up through the hole and into a dark world.

It wasn't dark to me. It was brighter than the cell. Stars twinkled in the sky, along with the moon, and the bell around my neck chimed in with them. The sound of it seemed to bring me back to earth; it hadn't made any noise at all when I was in captivity, so to speak, which was rather strange.

"Wha's going on?" I had enough sense to ask, my senses themselves still groggy.

"I'm getting you away from the bad men," he told me, as if I wouldn't be able to comprehend large words in my sleepy state. "I'm taking you somewhere safe."

"And who're you?"

"Call me Envy for now."

I stupidly blurted out, "I knew it!" then fell silent.

A few minutes passed as the wind brushed my hair from my forehead.

"I feel disgusting," I remarked. "Do me a favour and kill Ed, m'kay?"

"Fullmetal?"

"Yeah. 'S all his fault."

Suddenly, Cody's voice filled my head as if I were struck with lightning. It had been so long… how long?

'_Young one--,"_

I tried to sit up straight, forgetting I was on someone's back. "Holy shit!" I exclaimed to the night air. I lost my balance, and fell off Envy's back.

"What's your problem, girl?"

"Sorry…" I said. "Uh, is it normal to have voices in your head?"

"I'm not sure. Depends what kind of voices."

I felt like he wouldn't spill anything to anyone important. Besides, it's not like he'd believe me. "Well, it's the voice of a dog that died in my past life, and is one hundred and forty-some years old. His name is Cody."

The man gave me a weird look and held out his hand to help me up. "No comment." He said, and pulled me onto his back again as we set off.

"…I can run faster than you." I challenged, not wanting to be dead weight anymore.

"Oh can you now?" He didn't budge.

"Yes. I can." Neither did I.

He sighed, and set me down. "To that tree, then. On your marks, get set, go!"

I won.

"Toldja!" I laughed at him, and then stretched my arms above my head. "Ah, I feel alive again. It's a good feeling."

"What's it like?"

"You don't know?"

"Nope."

"What ARE you?!" I exclaimed, leaning in close, as if examining some strange creature. I knew what he was, but I wanted to see if he would admit it to a stranger.

"Ah—More like what are YOU?"

"Me? I'm the same as you. But different, too." I rhymed. I really loved riddles.

My bell chimed. Cody appeared.

'_Child, this man--,'_

I turned to him. "You shush! I just got out of the Pit of Despair, and am enjoying myself; I don't want you dragging me down right now! AND you didn't talk to me for the ENTIRE time I was there, so you're grounded!"

I think I just had a mood swing. Not a good sign.

"Where did the dog come from?"

"Whoa… You can see him?!"

"Yes."

"Okay, then. This is my dog-from-the-past, Cody." I mused over that; would it actually be from the future? I didn't bother dwelling on it for too much longer.

'_I did not mean any harm by my words, child. I only wanted to tell you that it is possible for me to communicate with this man.'_

"Oh… Sorry, then. Cody, meet Envy."

There was silence for a moment, then Envy stumbled backwards, bewildered.

"Yay! I'm happy! I'm not clinically insane anymore!" This must have scared my rescuer, but I was sort of high off of the joy of being free. I would avoid the military for the rest of my life! "Hey, Cody, is it because he's a homunculus?"

'_That would be my guess.'_

"Hey—how did you know that?"

I pointed blankly to the Ouroboros on his thigh. He blushed at his stupidity.

I then fainted. Or something to that effect.

There was no warning. No light-headedness or anything of the sort. I just couldn't stand anymore, and fell over.

I then realized that going into a state of shock was my physical reaction to a kidnapping. Wow. Excellent, great to know.

* * *

**A/N: Muahahah. School's out for the winter holidays! 'S not like we did anything Friday anyways... Just had an assembly and played cards. I kicked Mickay's ass at Cheat, but she won with War. Grr...**

**So I'm not allowed to write on the desk in 4th period anymore. It sucks. BUT, I wrote out a poem anyways. NOT on the desk. And I think I was supposed to update Thursday, but I forgot. Wasn't my fault, Dad distracted me by taking me shopping! I got to leave halfway through 3rd period. **

**Here's the first part of the poem called The Wait:**

**_There's a strange sort of silence_**

**_That follows you around._**

**_A puzzling feeling,_**

**_It keeps you on the ground._**

**_You're waiting; for what_**

**_You do not know_**

**_But as time passes,_**

**_it continues to grow._**

**So far there's three parts to this poem. I'm not sure if I'm going to write any more... If I get random inspiration, maybe. **

**-HW-**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	10. Chapter 10

Envy carried me for about an hour, until we ended up at a derelict building that was probably a hospital once. Inside, passing the reception area, he put me down on an old bed, not bothering to ask if I needed anything. I didn't expect him to.

"Sorry," I apologized, "It seems I hate people that use force to get their way."

"How is this related to you freezing up?"

"It happened once before, when I was rescued from a kidnapping. I couldn't move for a couple days." That was as simple as I could put it without appearing to be a chatterbox. I quite liked Envy, when he wasn't trying to kill anyone.

"You were kidnapped?"

"I guess."

Ed had said that it was my catch phrase… that statement was actually coming true.

"So, Envy," I decided to make conversation to the homunculus who was lounging on the bed next to mine. "Pray tell why we're in an old hospital?"

"Real doctors would just ask questions. We don't need that."

"Good point. And why did you save me, of all people? More orders?"

"Generally."

"Talkative, aren't you?"

He grunted. I realized he was trying to sleep.

"Huh. So homunculi sleep, too. Good to know."

He spoke up one last time before we fell into the dark.

"What are you?" he mumbled groggily.

"I'll show you when I can move."

The dream I had that night was sort of disturbing. Envy was trying to kill me, and Edward was the one trying to kill him. Which surprised me. Wasn't Ed trying to kill me too? So he might as well have just let the homunculus kill me anyways. But then Al came and scooped me up in his metal arms and placed me in a corner of the windowless, characterless room, asking if I were okay. I remembered myself nodding. He then went and tried to assist his brother.

Mustang appeared and blew everything up, and I saw the building from the outside go up in flames, ashes falling from the sky. It was an all-over doomsday, and it seemed extremely real. That reality was destroyed as Mustang's face suddenly blurred, his body following, and Micah appeared. She was wearing her usual jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, and she held out a hand to help me up.

There was an Ouroboros on her hand.

She then morphed into Ed, whom I felt safe taking the hand of (and did), who morphed into Envy, which made sense with all the body-changing stuff. Following that, the homunculus hugged me, and it was very comforting.

Because I was crying.

I woke up with new knowledge. The only way for Micah to come to this world was if someone tried to resurrect her lookalike in this world. She'd have to be a homunculus too.

As much as I wanted her to join me in the 'fun' of running around Amestris, I wasn't sure if I wanted her to be Ed's enemy. In fact, I wanted to see her on Ed's and Mustang's side, rather than against them. Those two had too much power, and I don't know how hard it would be to keep both of us safe. They could possibly capture one of us and use said person as a hostage, and that wouldn't be good at all.

I found I could move, but I couldn't stand up without needing support. Envy was awake really early, and he helped me sit up, handing me some fast food (Amestris-equivalent of) for breakfast. It wasn't Mrs. Curtis quality, but it was still rather filling.

"So you going to show me what you are yet?"

"I want you to guess, first!" I said, smiling. My bell jingled.

"Are you a robot?" He deadpanned. I shook my head. "A moving puppet of some sort?" Again, no. He sighed. "I give up."

I pouted. "And I thought it was obvious!"

He gave me a look that said, 'and what do you mean by that?'

"I'm like you, but different, too." I repeated from yesterday.

"There can't be another homunculus."

"Or can there?" I put my food down and undid the cloth around my neck, and showed the Ouroboros to him. I could hear the slightest intake of breath. I smiled sadly, knowing that I was a contradiction to existence to many people. I had driven Ed to go to extremes and use the military.

My life wasn't exactly fun any more.

Envy was muttering something under his breath. It sounded like, 'so that was why' or something.

"Arreee you okay?" I drawled, placing the cloth back.

I didn't expect him to answer. Surprisingly, he did. "…It's just… different. We were told that there could only be so many homunculi in the world at a time, and we just seem to know when one dies, like we're all connected. So it…"

"Goes against everything you knew?"

He nodded.

"I tend to do that. I guess I'm a contradiction to existence. That's one of the reasons why Edward locked me up. I think he was stir-crazy. I can remember my past, too. I had a brother two years older than me, my parents were divorced, and my grandmother was the greatest lady I had ever known." I was holding back tears at this point. I wanted to convince Envy that I wasn't any danger, that he didn't need to stick me in some deep underground cell like the military, but that meant talking about things I'd rather avoid. "I had dreams, when I first came here, of my closest friends dying, others mourning my death." I looked straight at him; he was staring at me in more wonder than fear. "Please, please don't send me back to the military or kill me or something! I don't exactly want to waste the second chance given to me."

He rounded on me, suddenly angry. "Second chance?! Being the creatures we are, I wouldn't call it a second chance, girly. It's more of a curse than anything." He breathed out, calming himself. He didn't seem to want to lose his temper with me.

I bowed my head. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong." He then looked closer at me. "You look kind of familiar, though. Did we meet before?"

"Uh…" I didn't know how to answer that. Ah, well. "I guess. I threw a tin of mints at you. And cursed you with burning bacon."

He raised his eyebrow at this, but I knew he remembered when he said, "I haven't been able to cook a single piece of bacon since. Well, then, let's get going, brat."

"You make it sound like you're so much older than me."

"Well, I am. You're what, eleven?"

"I'm fourteen!"

"Right, right. Makes no difference. I stopped counting the years after the four-hundredth." I pretended to bug my eyes out. I then followed up with a giggle.

"Old geezer…" I muttered, knowing he'd catch it. His right eyebrow twitched, telling me he was annoyed. He grabbed my wrist and helped me up, letting me lean on him as we walked out of the derelict hospital. It seemed my recovery was much quicker this time. Now all I needed was to get kidnapped once more so I wouldn't have this kind of problem. "Where're we going again?"

"Somewhere safe." He said.

I was led out into the woods, and we walked for a good half-hour before Envy got annoyed and heaved me onto his back, piggy-back style once again. He then sped up, and we stopped only once to grab some food in a small town. He insisted on getting me chocolate… I think he was planning on fattening me up and eating me.

"Fool," He told me once I voiced this scary thought. "Chocolate is good for getting your strength back. And I don't eat humans; that's Gluttony's job."

"Have you forgotten? I'm not human either. So there's still a possibility of you eating me. It's not a pleasant thought."

He simply chuckled and kept running.

I then reminded myself that if I continued with the 'eating' thing, he'd switch it so it sounded like we were referring to kissing or something. My face heated up at the thought, and I buried it in his shoulder, with the excuse of avoiding a branch. The guy smelled good, surprisingly. I guess it was a homunculus thing.

We ended up stopping in a tiny town I didn't catch the name of, and we ate in an equally tiny restaurant with good food. Envy really was trying to fatten me up…

Our trip led us beyond the town, and we eventually stopped by a river, Envy proclaiming that we'd rest here for the night. He looked tired. I felt bad; I had really only been a burden to him… though I questioned why he was doing this all for me. I didn't voice it, worried of the answer—or silence—I might receive.

"Here," He threw a cloth at me. A towel? "Go take a bath. I won't peek."

"I certainly hope not." I mumbled to his last comment, accepting the towel and heading off to the stream as he started up a small fire. I felt greasy, my hair was limp, and so on, so the idea of a bath sounded great.

I dipped my toe in before getting undressed.

Bad idea.

I held in a yelp and pulled my foot back out; the water was _cold_! I decided to suck it up; a little temperature wasn't going to hold anything over me getting clean for once. I stripped and jumped in.

I made faces at my reflection in the water, hugging myself tightly as the cold bit my skin. I knew I couldn't get sick though, so it was a bit reassuring. Strange thoughts swarmed my head though, mainly centred on Envy and his kind actions. Was it because I was a homunculus too? Who knows.

I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing at myself. Not because of the thoughts, but because I had continued to make faces as I thought stoically.

"You okay?" Envy called.

"Yep, just fine!" I let my grin carry into my words.

I stayed in the shallow part of the stream, not daring to go any farther as I washed up. I had a sort of annoying fear of water. I could swim, but I didn't hold much confidence in that skill, and was deathly afraid of things I couldn't see, like leeches, and other sorts of aquatic animals that _aren't_ pleasant in the _least_. A trip to the eastern shore—a small island belonging to the state of Rhode Island—didn't help much either as my merciless cousins had dragged me into waves twice as tall as I was. The thought of being crashed back onto the beach in gratuitous amounts of salt water, pouring into my nose and mouth and making my eyes sting and my breath catch and chest compress and loss of air—I couldn't stand sitting in what was supposed to be my element (according to the star sign of Cancer) and pulled myself out of the water, ending up standing ankle deep with a towel wrapped around my malnourished body.

A rustling in the bushes woke me from my memories of water as Envy came into sight, hands over his eyes. "Oy, you alright? You've been quiet for a while."

"You can take your hands off your eyes, you know. I've got my towel."

He blushed a soft crimson, and I held in a giggle.

"You'll see less than you would if I wore a bathing suit." I felt comfortable around this guy. If I were my old self—not dead, not a homunculus, not in Amestris and not on the run from the military—I would have been incredibly embarrassed. It must be something about the same species.

He took his hand away from his face slowly, almost afraid that he'd see me stark naked. I wasn't that bold!

I stared into the water, watching minnows surround my feet. Back where I used to live, we had a whole load of minnows. My friends and I had bought a net from the dollar store, hoping to catch some. We succeeded at times, and failed during others. And then the net broke from the handle. And the wire holding the mesh bent from the weight of the water.

Another thing that we used to do was search for clams. The river back home wasn't deep at all, and we could go a good ways from shore and still have the water only reach my chin—out of myself, Micah, and Viki, I was the shortest, a total of five feet.

"Hey."

I snapped to attention. "Hm?"

"What're you thinking?" He inquired.

"Just… stuff. Stuff I probably shouldn't think about."

"Like…?"

"My past. Things I used to do with my friends. We had a river, where I used to live; it was shallow, so we'd go in the summer to swim, and… I guess I'm starting to miss them."

"So if the river wasn't shallow, you wouldn't swim?" He prodded.

"Sort of. I'm a bit scared of water. I went to the ocean for vacation once, and thought I was going to drown like five times."

There was silence between us for a few moments as we both stared at the water.

"C'mon." he poked my shoulder. "Get dressed, brat, dinner's ready."

I laughed at my apparent new nickname as he left me in peace. I did as requested, pulling my clothes back on, and headed to the campfire.

Purple eyes that reflected fire shimmered like newly polished gems. Or so I found out as I got back. It was cool… did my eyes do that? I wondered.

"This may be kind of random, but why do you wear a skort?" I asked. "And why does it actually look _good_ on you?"

He grinned slyly. "Jealous?"

"Curious."

He just shrugged in answer. "Why do you wear a bell all the time? People will know when you're coming."

I fingered the bell for a moment. "Really, it was just to cover up the Ouroboros, but I grew kind of attached to the bell. I always wanted one…" I smiled and sat down.

I was in a strange predicament. Why the hell was I making friends with the bad guys, and enemies with the good guys? C'mon! I'm on good terms with Scar AND Envy, and both Mustang and Edward are out to get me. I don't know _what_ the blondie told his brother, but I really hope it was the truth. No doubt Al would take his brother's side… Argh.

My brain hurt.

I laid down and closed my eyes, Envy leaning against a tree to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: MERRYY CHRIISTMAASSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happyhappyhappy! I get to see Micah on the 28th! She lives far away, but since she'd flew to her relatives, and she's flying back on that day, she's stopping in the town where I am now, and where my grandma lives, so I get to see her for about an hour!! SOO HAPPY! It's been half a year since I last saw her. **

**As is tradition practically, here's the 2nd part of The Wait:**

**_The Wait continues_**

**_Without your consent_**

**_And you wonder to yourself_**

**_How much time have you spent?_**

**_The holidays pass,_**

**_Pass you right by,_**

**_Not nearly as noticed_**

**_As your little white lies._**

**Kind of creepy ending there... This is my favorite part of it though. **

**This chappy is dedicated to Micah and Viki. Viki's in Germany right now, and neither of them know that this story even exists, which is really funny. Thanks to x7xDoubleDarex7x 'cause she's cool. If you like EnvyxOc, go read her story, it's awesome! **

**-HW-**

**Song: Grandma got runover by a Reindeer (I love this song!)**


	11. Chapter 11

We woke with the sun. Literally. I rubbed my eyes as the man across from me stood up, his movements slow and groggy.

"Not a morning person?" I asked him.

"Mmrph." He replied.

"Intellectual response." I said. I was even more sarcastic when I was tired, and I'm not sure if it helped the situation as he glared… I gulped and set to covering the ashes with leaves and dirt, letting it settle before we both headed to the stream to get drinks and wash our faces.

Cold water really helps the waking-up process. It only made me crankier, though. Envy seemed to be up and about as soon as the water touched his face, but I felt like I was going to fall over… I grumbled as he grabbed my wrist and led me through the woods.

Neither of us said anything for the longest time, and so I was left to my thoughts. And me being left to my thoughts means me concentrating on something but ending up thinking about something else.

My concentration subject was my memories. I tried to remember as much as possible about my old life; if Envy was over 400 years old, than that meant that I could live forever and possibly forget. It was pretty much my worst fear, forgetting.

I pictured a circus I went to when I was around ten. It was Cirque du Soleil: Alegria. And if I recalled correctly, it was marvelous. Tightropes, clowns, power tracks (trampolines), acrobats, they had everything except for animals. Before the show started, the clowns would go through the crowd, throwing little bits of paper at people.

I used to watch their shows on TV all the time after that. My favourites were always the power track act and one I never knew the name of, where two men would go into wheels and the wheels would spin opposite each other… It was beautiful, and I loved the music.

When I was at my grandmother's just after Christmas, with my mom, we were watching one such show, called Kooza. I remembered being jealous of the flexability and skill the people had. I had remarked to mom how it was my dream job to be in the circus; one such as renowned as Cirque du Soleil would be awesome. I'd felt so useless though, and so jealous…

And Envy could probably do all those skills without batting an eye. I scowled, once again feeling so powerless. I was definitely unsatisfied with myself back then; I wondered if I had changed at all. I couldn't do cool flips, and I had to remind myself that I could jump between rooftops and run _faster _than the current object of my jealousy.

My mind would constantly remind me of my faults, and I desperately tried to counter them, but to no avail. I think I loved being depressed too much.

One of my major flaws that led to emotional demise was how I would always almost cry around people, but when I was alone, I was cold hearted. It pissed me off to no end; I would start to tear up if I were talking to a person, but if I had a conversation with myself (no, I'm not crazy…well, not as much as you may think…) about a similar subject, I would probably just sit there, eyes as dry as the desert.

And on that thought, my eyes began tearing up. Envy's hand wrapped around my wrist felt white-hot, reminding me that I wasn't alone, which made me want to cry more, yet not cry at all… I rubbed at my eyes, mimicking the motions from this morning.

"Still tired?" Envy asked, breaking the silence that had probably lasted for a good half-hour. He twisted his torso around, not pausing in his gait but slowing down slightly.

I glanced up, slightly startled. My eyes were probably red. "Ah, uh, no…"

He stopped walking completely. "You okay?"

The tears stung. "I'm _fine._" I snapped, feeling suddenly angry with… well, everything. And I most definitely did NOT want to cry in front of **anyone**. I crouched, Envy letting go of my hand so I could rub my eyes with both hands.

"Oy…" He grumbled, sounding annoyed. My scowl deepened. He poked my shoulder, and I had to suppress a growl as my hand shot out and smacked his. "Hey, what's with you, brat?"

"Leave me alone." I mumbled into my knees. I knew that if I looked up, the tears would only fall more—yes, I was already crying. I couldn't exactly tell without touching the saltwater on my cheeks.

"What? I can't hear you." Ack, he was so annoying.

"Leave me **alone**." I ground out, sitting back against a tree with my face still buried in my arms.

"What the hell did I do?!"

"Fuck _off._"

He was clearly annoyed at me now; I could just picture his eyebrow twitching. I braced myself. He grabbed my forehead and pushed it back so he could see my face clearly.

Again, I slapped his hand away, turning to look at a tree behind him rather than at him. The depression felt as if it had settled in my chest as I growled, "Leave me alone and I'll stop crying."

I gritted my teeth so I wouldn't make any noise, hopelessly wiping at my cheeks, trying to dry them, but to no end. I heard Envy take a step back, then forward, crouching in front of me.

"Why the hell would I leave you alone in this state? You'll probably end up cutting your wrists or something."

"With what?" I asked, but I had to hold in a laugh.

"You'd probably find a way. Maybe bite yourself to death, or claw out your eyes, with the rate you're going at."

I stopped rubbing my eyes, simply hiding them with my sleeves.

Envy leaned up against the tree next to me, facing straight ahead; I felt his shoulder touch mine, and I started to calm down. "I hadn't cried in front of someone since I was little…really little, way before my parents split up… It makes me uncomfortable when people cry around me, so I thought that it would be the same for them. It's kind of embarrassing…"

"So you'd cry alone?"

"…No. If I was alone, I usually wouldn't cry. I'd have no reason to, because no one was around to remind me of anything horrible enough to cry about."

"That's… worth crying about."

"I know. I never did, though."

"…I can't remember the last time I cried. I guess there was no need for it."

"Apparently it's an emotional outlet. That's probably why I'm such a wreck right now."

"…My emotional outlet was-- is killing people."

I laughed.

"You're not disgusted?"

"Well… no, I guess not. I laugh at the most random things; a lot of people never understood me for that reason. And more."

Envy stood up, and crouched in front of me again. He surprised me by gently wiping at the corners of my eyes. "'S not like you're alone right now, so even if there are things I don't understand, that doesn't mean I can't be your… friend, right?"

He said friend with such difficulty… I wonder how long it'd been since he interacted with someone besides the homunculi, and not for the sake of killing them.

Yet here he was asking if we were friends. I admired him, and it only made me angrier with myself.

But I wiped away my evil feelings. If he was trying to make friends, the least I could do was help him out, right?

Instead of just agreeing with him, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him with a smile. "Thank you." I whispered. It was hard to say, which surprised me.

Crying left me feeling disgusting yet clear. This was expected; it wasn't like I hadn't cried before, so I at least knew what it was like. I still didn't like the after effects. Namely, often awkward moments with whoever was around you at the time.

Envy helped me stand up, and we continued to trek through the forest. Eventually we ended up having to pass through a thick patch of trees and foliage, but on the other side was a small hut… Huh? I kept my mouth shut, thinking that he'll explain if he wants to.

And he did. "You'll stay here. It's safe; none of the other homunculi know it exists. Go on in." I did as I was told and entered the quaint log house. It was all one room on the ground floor. The kitchen was off to the right, covering that entire wall. There was a fireplace on the opposite wall, with a large comfy-looking chair that could probably fit two of me. A circular rug covered the ground, and across the room from where we stood was a door, and a set of stairs leading to what I assumed was the attic/bedroom. "The door is a closet," Envy told me.

"How do you know of this place?" I asked.

"I found it a couple years back, and… uh, built it up." He seemed a bit uncomfortable on the subject, as if he were embarrassed. I didn't ask any more questions, but only because none came to mind. Instead, I ended up exclaiming about how cool it was.

Then something came to light. "So what about you?" I asked it casually, but it felt like it meant more.

"Um, I have to stay around more populated areas and do the jobs given to me. I usually have to be with Lust and Gluttony for a bunch of things, sometimes Sloth."

"Oh." I didn't know what I was expecting, but something itched at the back of my thoughts, and I had to ask another question. "Will you come visit, then?" I already knew that my stay in this cute cabin was indefinite, so there was no point in asking about that.

"…Sure."

That made me smile a little.

"I'll bring food, once a week, okay? Don't go too far from the house, and don't get lost." His concern was rather touching. "If someone finds this place, pretend you're not home, and keep the door and windows locked. If that person is persistent, don't go near the door. I'm the only one who can shape shift, and I have a key anyways, so I don't have to knock."

After laying down a few more rules, he left. I watched from the window next to the door as he disappeared in the greenery, his hair (tinted green, of course) helped him blend. I sighed and flopped onto the large armchair.

I explored a bit more later. There was a good enough supply of firewood for the nights, and upstairs the twin bed was covered with three quilts, and there were extras in the closet. There was an outhouse around the back of the building, but there was no back door so I'd have to walk around. Inside the outhouse there was a shower and soaps (thank god) and an abundant supply of toilet paper. I also found a machine for washing clothes… I didn't exactly have any clothes, though, other than the greyish dress-thing that hung from my shoulders and the underclothes I had on.

There was a dresser upstairs, and I peaked in the drawers. There were shirts, sweatshirts, pants, socks, and embarrassingly, guys' underwear. But then again, this was Envy's 'escape house', where he could feel human for once, away from society. I changed into a large t-shirt and the pair of pants that fit me best. As for underclothes, I was going to have to suffer, and go without while washing them…

There was an abundant supply of food; it'd last me about a week. There was no milk, but there was running water, which I was grateful for. Also, there was a shelf full of a random selection of books. If there were a fiction series, Envy had the whole series, not just the first two books or something. Which was good.

Not knowing what else to do, I sat down with a book.

I knew time was going to pass slowly. How slow, was another matter entirely.

For the first day, I did almost nothing at all. I lounged around in a state of half-depression of loneliness, half-exhaustion from the entirety of what had occurred since my arrival in Amestris.

I knew from experience that it's just not worth living unless there's something to look forward to; especially when your life seems to be going nowhere at the time. So, I focused my current life around Envy coming every week. I had that instinctive feeling in my gut that it was good to be around him.

Even so, there really was nothing to do. I ended up cleaning the cottage-house on the 2nd day, wiping down every surface that had collected a single spec of dust. Next, I cooked myself a good full meal, the leftovers of which would be used for two or three other meals as well.

Music would play in my mind whenever I had thought to spare. Often, it was the music I had listened to most before I disappeared; My Chemical Romance, some Cirque Du Soleil soundtracks (Hijo De La Luna, quite a bit) and Breaking Benjamin were the dominating three. Sometimes I would sit in front of the empty fireplace and put my imagination to work. I would picture a fire, the crackling orange and reddish flames reaching up through the chimney, the smoke streaming from the roof outside. I felt the warmth on my skin, and I could even smell the smoke after blowing out a scented candle; I used to burn them in my room, depending on the occasion. Orange for success (I usually burned that one during exams), green for luck, and I'd even focus on Envy's face while looking at the flame on that particular one. After all, Envious Green, right?

On the third day, I was in tears. I'd been left to my thoughts for so long that I didn't know what to do with myself. I'd dusted the place spotless, cooked meals to last me the rest of the week, washed clothes at least twice a day, and I'd get bored of reading.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

The fourth day, I kinda sorta went insane… I skipped around the house, singing all the songs I knew from Raffie to Within Temptation. It kept me busy for about half an hour, which was an accomplishment.

Finally, something occured to me. I recalled (painfully) what I had been thinking about before I had had a mental breakdown in front of Envy. I was jealous of the circus performers. And so, maybe it would calm me just a bit if I 'trained' a little. I began doing stretches outside, trying to touch my forhead to each knee before running around the house twice, and doing more stretches. I found I was more flexible than I remembered, and so I attempted a cartwheel; it felt perfect, and way too easy.

Thus began my circus tricks and training.

I must have been **really **bored. Before, I'd have been too lazy to even get up before noon.

* * *

**A/N: I'm alive! Yay! Exams haven't started yet, they begin next Friday, and I'll be at school for roughly the first two hours of the 23rd, 26th, 27th, and 28th. Joy! Oh, and my math culminating activity was arranged so that it would be our EQAO. Happiness of life!**

**I also have episodes 1 to 6 of House (1st season) downloaded onto my laptop, so that eases the pain a little.**

**Okay, 3rd and final part of my cute little depressing poem:**

**_Suffocating, wandering, it all stands still_**

**_Until a cry is heard, soft but shrill._**

**_It echoes through your heart,_**

**_And you know it's over_**

**_The End's here, it's time for your part_**

**_Save her life,_**

**_Guard her from strife,_**

**_Take every opportunity presented_**

**_to you._**

**That'll be the end of that poem... I'll see if I have any more in reserve to entertain your little minds, if the story isn't satisfying enough. It'd be funny if people read this just for the poems... funny, but pathetic. I'm not THAT good.**

**Moving on. It's minus 30-something degrees(C) outside, and I'm probably not going to school tomorrow. I'll send an e-mail to good ol' Viki to call me in the morning if she's not going either. Depends on how cold it is. I hate cold. I wonder why I still live in Canada. Oh yeah, and Viki got me a mini stuffed fox for X-mas! FYI, a nickname of mine is/means Fox. So there's an inside joke there. **

**Song: Cirque Du Soleil: Alegria**

**-HW-**

**P.S. The Alegria story is true. I did go see it when I was little, in Toronto. My idol is now that french singer, the girl always in white. She's amazing!**


	12. Chapter 12

So three weeks into this 'circus training' thing, I figured out exactly how much I could do… and when I fell from what must have been 5 stories out of a pine tree and landed on my head, snapping my neck and breaking several bones in my body, I realized through all the pain that I couldn't die.

I know, I'd gotten shot in the head before and am still walking, without a scar, but I guess I actually _acknowledged_ this (freakishly scary) act.

I had mixed feelings on this. I mean, the other Homunculi I remember would get beaten around and all and would heal moments after (which was exactly what I did after my fall), and then only way they could actually die was if they were killed with a piece of their human selves near. This got me wondering if my human body was in Amestris, or back home. And then I worried if I would be able to stay sane living forever, or if I'd just turn out like Envy, killing multiples of thousands throughout my lifetime as a stress reliever.

…

Maybe not. I'll just play pranks on the military every now and then for shits and giggles.

Speaking of… I had another idea for a prank. In fact, the simple plan had been festering in my mind since the week before, and it eventually became like a tumour. Damn. Had to do something about it…

But I couldn't right then. Because it was the seventh day, and Envy was going to get here soon. And, well, you know how the saying goes. 'Speak of the devil and he may appear.'

"Kit."

"…Hey."

"Why are you outside?"

"I got bored?"

"_Kit_."

"I know the rules, okay?" I frowned; he was being a little mean today. Did something happen? "You never said I couldn't go outside, I just can't go too far from the house."

He sighed. I was right, of course. "So… what're you doing, then?"

"I'm figuring out how far I can go."

"Huh?"

"I pretty much just realized that I can't die."

It was then that he noticed the ripped clothes I was wearing and the blood on the ground around me. I, of course, wasn't hurt at all; it'd healed up a good fifteen minutes ago, which was four minutes after I fell.

"I fell from the tree, you know. It was… weirdly, kind of fun." I blinked at myself as I realized this.

Gods. I was gonna be one of those people that does dangerous things because it's fun and exiting.

Well, at least it wasn't boring.

I shrugged (still laying on my back on the ground) to show my indifference, but Envy's face was strained, twisted a bit into something that I couldn't quite make out. "Don't you dare do that again." He hissed scarily, and I nodded… kind of intimidated.

We'd really only had three days to 'get to know each other' as 'friends', and this was the fourth. Don't blame us if we still are trying to figure out where we stand.

Eventually, after a short glaring contest, we moved inside, where he deposited groceries, we put them away, then made (and devoured) dinner.

Envy at his food in front of the empty fireplace, in the comfy armchair. He was practically falling asleep; maybe something _did _happen, like I'd guessed earlier? I didn't ask him anything until I'd taken his empty dishes away, placing them in the sink. His eyes were half closed, then, and he was glaring at the empty fireplace.

Night clouded the windows outside, and a light fog fell over the forest. I pulled out some wood and lit a fire, my movements deliberately slow, as if going faster would startle Envy to consciousness.

He was still awake enough to watch me though, and I could feel his eyes watching me. I stood up and squeezed myself next to the man, settling in and waiting for a few minutes before questioning if he was alright.

"Yeah." Was his monotonous answer.

"Really…? You've been snappy earlier, and now you're practically asleep."

"It's just… Lust. She was… being herself."

"I see." I really didn't, but hummed a tune and stared at the flames. Our bodies soaked up the heat the fire provided, and it only helped to send Envy to the dreamworld. His head flopped onto my shoulder, and I smiled at the thought that Envy trusted me enough to become a little more unguarded around me. While sleeping, his face was smooth (no stress lines) and there was less harshness. He wasn't constantly glaring at something or other, and my eyes grew sad that he had to be so defensive and scary while awake.

I huffed, mad that I was probably just adding to his stress. But it's not like I could disappear; that'd just send him on another killing spree.

Slowly, I leaned back against Envy and let myself sleep.

When I woke, Envy was gone. It was expected.

But once again I was left with nothing to do. After a short breakfast I wandered outside and to the river… "What's across it?" I mused. "Okay, talking to myself isn't going to help this insane-woods-hermit image any."

I shut up, but waded across the river, pulling up the bottoms of my gray Capri pants and forgetting to find shoes.

On the other side… was more forest. I hadn't guessed any differently, but the river itself was wide enough that it took a while for me to get across. As shallow as it was, I could see only a blurry image of the clumps of green trees across the way.

I smiled. If Envy came looking for me, he would never guess that I actually went across the water. I still pretty much hated the water, but at least I could tolerate it a little when I could see the bottom.

I ran through this new area in exploration, quickly finding a clearing right next to the water (there was this neat little overhanging rock that looked like it was used for fishing) and a trail that led away from the bank. Following it led me to a thinned out part of the forest, less underbrush and more hiking trails, and a clear view of Central.

Oh.

Well, then.

I might as well… while I'm here and all. Best not waste an opportunity, I suppose.

I headed for the city and scaled the walls like a true criminal, instantly spotting the military headquarters as I leaped from roof to roof. Eventually, I landed on top of a house across from the familiar window of Colonel Mustang's office. It was empty… which was just fine for me.

I opened the window from the outside (stupid of them to leave it unlocked) and hopped in, rifling through the Colonel's desk until I found what looked like an important document.

I flipped it over and wrote on it.

_The beginning of eternity  
The end of time and space  
The beginning of every end  
And the end of every place_

Heheheh.

The letter 'e' was the answer, of course, but it sounds more mysterious and thus will throw everyone into too much of a thinking stupor. I laughed and left through the window with perfect timing. The door opened just as my bell jingled, but I was already out of their view and on a distant rooftop by the time Mustang reached the window.

I sighed sadly. This little adventure of mine was turning out to be more stressful than I imagined. Whenever my friends and I talked of going to Amestris, we never pictured ourselves running from the main characters, or being protected by an out of character Envy, or being shot at by Mustang or locked up by Edward.

But oh dear, leaving these riddles was _fun._

I knew I shouldn't have been in Central. I could've gotten caught by anyone at any time. The worst kind of luck would have Envy and/or Ed find me. Either was I'd be dead. Mustang… I could escape from him. I've done it several times before.

I ended up wandering the back allies (that eventually warped into the sewers, and back again to the streets) while I waited for night to fall. Once the sun began to set, I pulled my sweater on properly, with the hood up, and emerged from an alley—

--and rammed head first into someone as I made the mistake of glancing at my bare feet.

Oof.

I also made the mistake of looking up. And then I made the mistake of recognizing Hughes.

"…You're going to die," I tell him ominously (mainly to distract him, but also to warn him; who wanted HUGHES to die?) and then walked around him, whispering, "I'm sorry." As I left.

My bell chimed, and I almost cried, before realizing that the man was turning to catch my arm; I twisted out of his grip and ran off in no particular direction, leaving my follower behind before ducking into a back alley and climbing to the roofs.

By that time, the entire headquarters was completely empty, and the stars were beginning to appear. Once I did my prank, I'd have to head back to—

Hey, they left an answer already.

And they… got it wrong. 'Death' they say. I laughed, stepping carefully into Mustang's office and pinning their answer on the board (where they left my riddles and answers, but they weren't in the shape of the Ouroboros anymore) before scratching it out with a pen and correcting them. I left another riddle, this one placed once again on Mustang's desk, before cautiously leaving the room and heading down the hall.

By the time I left, that night, all the chairs on that floor in all the unlocked rooms had somehow mysteriously placed themselves within the poor Colonel's office.

And then there was the riddle, laid carefully on the otherwise untouched desk.

_What is so delicate that when you say its name, it is broken?_

_**Silence.**_

I made it back to the house in the forest without hindrance.

* * *

**A/N: I'M SO SO SO SO SORRRYYYYY!**

**I wish I could say that my computer went for repairs or something, but honestly all I did was lose the chip that had the story on it and was too lazy to write out the chapter again because I forgot what I'd actually written.**

**So here's my alternative, which I started writing around 1 this morning. It's now 4. My hours are messed up.**

**...I actually find it entertaining to flip through the stories I'd written and read them as if they weren't mine. Someone tell me I'm not alone, or I'll think I'm a freak.**

**Anyways, I have the 13th chapter written, too, (it's kind of depressing) so let me know when you want me to upload it. I'll be staying at Micah's house from Friday 'til the 3rd of August, so let me know soon or I might not be able to put it up until I get back! **

**. Nojoke. Ilahvyouallllllllll.**

**-HW-**

P.S. I stole flowers from a wedding not too long ago. It was fun. But then my step-mom keeps bugging me about putting the toaster away, as if it's something really important.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Oh Woe Is Me, Lady Luck Has Fallen

So I went back to Central early the next morning. Can you blame me? I've always watched the guy's reactions when faced with another prank.

The only difference this time was that I had to be immensely careful, because I was certain the streets were crawling with undercover military men, and possibly Homunculi as well. So I was practically tiptoeing my way around before finally making it to a good enough seat (read: rooftop with a desirable view of the HQ building) and settling in there, wiggling my bare toes in the morning air.

I breathed in and out largely only once, relishing a precious 'alone' moment.

I had an itching feeling that I wouldn't be getting too many from that point onwards.

Eventually, I just ended up sitting as still as possible (it wasn't that hard, surprisingly) and focusing on my surroundings so no one would sneak up on me, keeping an eye on Mustang's office until the door opened.

Mustang was not the first person to enter the room that morning. It ended up being Hughes, followed by Fallman (who, to me, appeared as the kind of person to methodically get up at the same time every day, so it surprised me that he was early). The two just kind of froze in the doorway, before closing and opening the door once again, and finally leaving the room and closing the door.

I didn't know what they were doing, and after five minutes curiosity overtook me, and I hopped over to the building and wormed my way into the ventilation system.

Now usually, I wouldn't have fit. But with all this Circus stuff in my head, and being starved in that Pit of Despair, my body was smaller than it should have been, and quite bony, despite the (surprising) hidden muscles. Nonetheless, I slipped easily through the metal tunnels, ignoring the impending sense of claustrophobia and crawling my way to above the door to Mustang's lovely chair-filled office.

By this time, the building was filling up with officials and unofficials and other sorts of officers, and people were complaining about the lack of chairs… and blaming Roy's men for stealing them all. Now, someone tell me what that handful of men would do with fifty-odd chairs?

Either way, they kind of got told for it, and I had to stifle my giggles, listening to Roy Mustang argue with some guys, doing his best to avoid the idea that it was actually a stray Homunculus-that-wasn't-evil playing pranks once again after a three-week absence. In the end, though, all the guys got was a scolding, and the chairs were in their rightful place.

It was after Mustang discovered the riddle that I finally got to listen in on how they solved them.

Without prelude, the Colonel plucked the riddle off his desk and turned to his men (who were standing silently, from what I could see from overhead) and read it out loud.

"What is so delicate that when you say its name, it is broken?" He asked them. "Go."

With that command, they began guessing… and that eventually led them to their answer.

"Glasses?"

"Dude, c'mon. My glasses didn't break, so no."

"Something intangible, maybe?"

"Like a music note?"

"That can't be broken, can it?"

"I guess not."

"Hmm…"

And they Hmm'd and Haw'd over it until they fell silent. And there, the answer lay in plain view. It was Fallman who got it.

"Silence." He said, ironically breaking the silence.

There were a few more comments before Riza took out a pen and paper, and taped the answer to the outside window. After that, their day resumed as per usual, until lunch. Of course, I didn't sit around in that vent until they left the room. I'd actually wiggled my way out after they finished solving the puzzle, but not before catching Roy's and Riza's conversation of 'is she back, sir?' and the reply of 'yes, I think so,' which made me laugh.

While I had a moment of freedom before Mustang and his group's lunch break, I pick-pocketed someone (didn't know I could do that) and bought myself some pasta for my own midday meal (along with a few materials required for what was to happen next), chowing down somewhere below a random bridge to stay out of sight before returning back to the office, my stomach full. With satisfaction, I pinned their answer up next to the riddle on the board, then stuck a riddle outside the door that read as follows:

_Four brothers born to the world_

_The first always runs and never wearies_

_The second eats yet is never full_

_The third drinks, forever thirsty_

_And the fourth sings a song that's barely heard._

_The second one, I bring to you_

_Carrying destruction and despair_

_Whatever it touches is so doomed_

_And most is left beyond repair._

I held a final piece of paper in my hand in the form of a letter, with a short little poem, but I wasn't sure if I was going to use it.

Once that was done, I estimated maybe 15 minutes to set up what I had in mind—and it wasn't going to be funny. No.

If anything, people were going to get hurt.

Nonetheless, I set my jaw and exited through the window, speeding across the roof to the other side of the building, splashing a bit of gasoline down a vent (I knew it led to the boiler room) keeping it from going down the hole directly, and instead letting it slide down the edge of the metal tunnel. I then trailed my way back to the office, letting the liquid pour along behind me. I smelled like gasoline.

There was soon a trail of gas that led from the vent all the way to along the outside wall and into Colonel Mustang's office and I settled myself on the window ledge, fingering a lighter in my pocket. By this time, I'm sure you've guessed it; I was turning myself into a terrorist, pretty much.

I dunno. Maybe I was having mood swings.

I stared solemnly at the envelope in my hands.

_Who knows where we'll go from here—_

Ah—the door was opening. I looked up from the paper to spot Roy and Riza reading the riddle I'd left for them. It was only when they were firmly within the room (the door was about to close behind them, but Havoc, Fallman, and Breda entered as well) that anyone even noticed I was there. And it was Havoc, at that. The Colonel wasn't even paying attention to where he was walking.

"Hey, Colonel, sir…"

"Yes, Havoc?"

"You might want to…"

Mustang looked up. I gave him a sad smile and a wave.

He pulled out his gun (his gloves had actually been carelessly left in his desk), and I sighed. "Last time, that didn't work, remember?"

"It's not like I want to shoot you."

"What, were you given orders by Ed? I thought it was supposed to go the other way around." This wasn't going right; our words were filled with hostility, and I didn't want to be that way towards this man.

Then again, I didn't want Edward Elric try to kill me.

Instead of continuing with the bickering, I cut Roy off before he said anything, leaving him with his mouth open. "Did you know…" I swung my legs so they hung inside the room, "That Fullmetal used to be like a role model to me? Like my grandmother—he just never stops until he gets what he wants."

I laughed, self-mocking.

"…He's now trying to kill me. How fun is that!" I probably looked like a raving lunatic. Mustang narrowed his eyes and cocked his gun, getting closer. "Say, have you figured out the answer to the riddle yet?"

"Kit…" He said, trying to strike up a conversation to distract me from the decreasing distance between us, and the guns that everyone else has drawn. "Where did you go? For how long…?"

Oh, right. There was still that unknown amount of time that the military had locked me up. I guess I might as well find some answers, but first… I pulled the lighter from my pocket, the action causing everyone to tense, as they expected some sort of weapon.

I suppose this lighter was. In my hands, it was, anyways.

I held it over a large gas spot I made. "Mustang, you can keep your gun up, but please stay a reasonable distance away from me or I'll burn the whole building."

It was about then that everyone considered me a pyromaniac.

Fortunately, they had recognized the stench of gasoline the moment they entered the room. Even Mustang backed up, but no one lowered their guns.

"The answer to the riddle is fire. I guess you could say it's a warning." I swung my feet a bit, like a schoolgirl. "Do me a favour; count back three weeks. Now, from that moment, how long had it been since you saw me? Not counting the three weeks."

Mustang blinked slowly. "At least a month."

I sighed sadly. "Now… would you be able to tell me why I had to ask you that? Why I didn't know?"

The heads shook in a negative.

"It's because I was locked up. Underground. It was a stone cell, with a toilet and sink, but no bed. The men would feed me only once a day… if I was lucky. They were dressed in military uniforms."

There were gasps at that, but I continued talking. "Next subject. What do you all view me as?"

"Right now? A homicidal maniac."

"…I'm kind of insulted, but I guess you're right. I meant, though… before I came here. What did you think when you found out I wasn't human?"

No one answered.

"Actually, never mind. If you don't want to say anything, that's fine. But let me tell you something… I'm not like the rest of them. Envy isn't, either. Honest. He's the one who sav—uh, well. I eat, sleep, have feelings… and the thing that distinguishes me the most from the others is that I remember who I was."

I stopped, trying to judge the looks on their faces; most just seemed mad, kind of racist-like opinions written all over them. Mustang and Riza were still impassive, unreadable.

The door opened.

I flicked my lighter open, allowing the flame to breathe. "Step in and close the door," I told Hughes. He even did us a favour of locking it so we wouldn't be interrupted, and took a seat.

He amused me.

"So," He began, breaking the short silence, "Can you tell me about this 'dying' business?"

"…What do you mean?" I asked him, guessing that he was referring to my comment the other day. But he could also be asking about what it was like to die, seeing as I'd already gone through the same thing.

"Yesterday."

"Okay..." I didn't say anything at first, but then asked a question. "Do you have a family, Hughes?"

"…Yes." He was wary. "My wife and daughter."

I avoided eye-contact with anyone, instead just watching their feet for movement. I was fairly good at this hostage thing.

"Well… You're going to die. Nonetheless, they'll kill you." Everyone tensed, and a few jumped as I clicked the lighter shut, and people began to protest and ask questions. I spoke over them. "Please understand that I'll do everything I can to save you. And please understand that this is a hostage situation—I can blow up the entire building in a flash."

The men (and Riza) appeared to be resigned to their fate, and Mustang even lowered his gun a little bit. "So what do you want, Kit?"

"…I want you all to get out alive."

"So you're still going to blow up the building?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm changing the storyline. After this point, I won't know what's going to happen to you all. There's something a little fucked up about the military anyways—especially the Fuhrer." I paused… "does he have a brown-haired secretary?"

Fallman answered with a 'no'.

Manga-version of Amestris, then. Or maybe the two were mixed. I really didn't care anymore; its not like things were following the storyline.

"But from this point onwards, I don't know if Hughes will really die. Or anything, really… and I kind of like it that way. Now I can disappear without your fates and lives nagging on my consciousness. Maybe I'll come find you guys, but… don't dig too deep into the military, please. That's what gets most people killed."

I then held out the letter to Mustang, who suspiciously lowered his gun and stepped forward, as everyone else tensed and Hughes stood up. But Mustang took the envelope from my hand without a problem.

"Now, get out of the building. You have five minutes." No one moved. "GO!" I shouted desperately, almost about to cry, "Or I'll light us all on fire right here!"

Five minutes later, they were all safe. Five minutes later, I had several pieces of burnt skin and several body parts missing. But I ran, and I made it back to the river. When I was there, I was healed.

I washed up in the water, letting my blood flow downstream as I crossed, crying and hoping I didn't kill too many. Or anyone important. Or Ed.

For some reason, I still didn't want Ed to die.

_Who knows where we'll go from here_

_The path is long and the journey dear._

_Life is a box to which a key is lost_

_And our actions hold unknown cost._

_Around the corner creeps something bad_

_Its note sounds of something sad._

_It cannot be seen, cannot be felt _

_Cannot be heard, Cannot be smelt_

_It lies behind stars and under hills,_

_And empty holes, does __**darkness**__ fill. _

_But the road goes ever on and on_

_Down from the door where it began._

_Now far ahead the road has gone,_

_And I must follow if I can._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Okay, so I couldn't resist adding the thirteenth chapter. Soak up the angst, peoples! I hate you all. Hahahah. **

**So, that final poem, that was what was written in Kit's letter to Mustang and the rest. The final two verses were stolen from The Hobbit, so I don't own them, though I tweaked the Darkness one a little bit. The first verse was original, though, and I feel proud of myself for that fact. **

**'Sides that... I'm visiting Micah tomorrow (Ugh, 8 hour busride...) so I'm pretty much in a relatively okay mood. I must admit, I hate myself for not doing something about this story sooner; the numerous months that I didn't update must've pushed away all of you.**

**Well... let's see where we can go from here. :)**

**-HW-**

_**The road goes ever ever on,**_

**_down from the door where it began._**


	14. Chapter 14

_Now far ahead the road has gone,_

_And I must follow if I can. _

Chapter 14

The Paths We Walk Are Freakishly Long

I didn't go back to the house in the forest. Instead, I followed the river down stream as I ran through h the possible people that could maybe help me.

But every time I thought of someone—Envy, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, Paninya—my gut screamed 'NO!' and I was forced to keep moving without any idea of where I was headed. Did I have a purpose, now? I thought back to burning down the Headquarters building—since there was gasoline involved, they wouldn't suspect Mustang—and scared myself be feeling a strange sort of self-satisfaction. I was finally able to do something by myself. Oh dear.

That thing just so happened to be killing people. Envy would be proud.

But with fire?

Damn.

I made a promise to myself to buy myself another lighter or two, next time I pass a town. Then cringed at the thought of being comfortable with burning people alive.

Okay, maybe not burning _people _specifically, but maybe just fire in particular? I pretty much just labelled myself a pyromaniac (which was weird because I wasn't one in my previous life, though I held no discomfort around the element) but was indifferent to the idea that I'd kill people.

Maybe I could burn something down and everyone would be grateful? …Burn _what_, though? Certainly not a prison—there was more chance of the convicts escaping than dying. If I were to create the perfect trap…

Lab 5.

I needed more gasoline.

I turned and hefted myself out of the water, edges of my pants dripping wet. I was lucky I didn't have to wear shoes.

The first town I found was small. I still couldn't read Amestrian, so I couldn't figure out the name, but it didn't look at all like it was important; it was just kind of there, almost as if it was in the way.

I found my way to a general store, where (after pick-pocketing a few people) I bought a few white candles, a lot of gasoline, and three lighters.

I seriously had no other goal in life than to burn down old labs that were being used to create Chimeras. Wow.

I asked one of the locals which way Central was, and headed off, not really sure if Lab 5 got destroyed or not but just hoping to burn something. Old habits die hard, though, and I end up writing a little riddle and wrapping it around a candle, intending for it to remain untouched by fire.

Once in Central, the changes were quickly spotted. A good deal of the once-white stone building of the military headquarters had been either burnt or smoked black (I wasn't sure which) and people were rushing around trying to put out the remaining flames. I'd been gone for maybe two hours, but I was surprised at how much damage I actually caused.

I grinned, then looked around for anything that looked prison-like. Lab 5 was next to a prison, right?

Eventually I found buildings with tall chain mail fencing and barbed wire circling the top. On one of the buildings was a sign that claimed I found what I was looking for. Contrary to what I remembered from volume 4 of the series, the building was not entirely destroyed, though there was a bit of a chunk taken out of the center (which was currently in repair). Smirking, I climbed up and over the fence, opening up one of the containers of gas and beginning to pour, surrounding the perimeter of the building. From there I created spokes that went from this perimeter to the building, where I added another circle just to be sure, then I went inside and painted the floors with the smelly liquid.

As I was walking down the halls, a guard (whoa, a guard! Unexpected!) had spotted me—luckily he was human and not armour, and I was able to knock him out and drag him outside, before I finished up creating a trail of gas that connected to both circles I'd drawn, as well as the gas within the building.

This place would burn FAST.

I giggled with an adrenaline rush and lit a candle, glancing around to see if anyone was watching before dropping it and letting loose the heat and flame of what the past half hour had built up to. Fire.

Fire. Fire.

Let it burn.

_Touched by fire, it is bright._

_Constant use changes height._

_Alive at night, out all day,_

_Use it too much and it'll burn away._

Old habits die hard, like I said. Those words were printed on the piece of paper that happened to be wrapped around the unlit candle in my hand—the candle that I then placed upright (I had to dig a little hole) in the dirt outside the outermost ring of fire.

I stared for only a few moments more before I heard footsteps and alarm bells, particularly from the prison next door, and I hurried off.

Next stop, as I decided in a quick passing moment—was the Fuhrer's house. The military's security sucks, anyways.

Honestly, running into people is more difficult than it seems, especially in a city as large as Central. So the fact that I bumped into Roy so many times, then that weird guy that acted like he recognized me, then Hughes twice—well, it was against a lot of odds. Speeding through the streets at human pace, looking like a street rat, I pretty much avoided any unwanted attention and encounters that I could've gotten myself into trying to find a map of some sort.

Did the Fuhrer even live in Central? I think so. In the anime it was a really big white house. And running through the streets blindly wasn't going to help me find it.

I searched around for where I could get a map (hopefully in the international trading alphabet…) and soon found a big board near some gate or other by the east exit. It pointed out where I was, then the military headquarters, but there was no Fuhrer household. Damn.

I ended up just wandering around the rooftops until I came to a house that had military men guarding the outer gates, and again on either side of the door. I smiled in this discovery and rounded up the gasoline (I'd actually stashed most of the containers because I couldn't lug them around with me) and set to work.

First, I discretely KO'd the guards by the gate, followed quickly by any others I encountered. I soon found out that there was also a patrol guard, and knocked them out as well. I dragged all the men to outside the gate, and hefted some gasoline to begin working.

By the time I was finished with outside, it was much like Lab 5—two circles surrounding the house, and then spokes that connected them. Before entering the building, I checked the windows (applying some of the flammable liquid on the sills as well) and made sure that the Fuhrer's wife was out of the house. I couldn't find the son, but I questioned if he was evil in this or not. In the anime, the poor boy just wanted to help his father. In the manga… He was the first Homunculus. Joy.

Well, I reasoned, he would end up dying in the anime anyways. And then I entered the house to complete my work.

The Fuhrer was in an office on the ground floor, with the door shut and probably locked, and lots of books inside. Therefore, he didn't notice when I took out the maids and butlers (also bringing them outside the perimeter and making sure everyone else was still unconscious) and lit a candle.

I looked around, like I had the time before, but there was one difference. A lady stood at the end of the street, in a long pretty coat. She had a gun pointed right at me and my lit candle. I couldn't clearly see her face, but the way she stood and held her weapon told me exactly who it was. Riza Hawkeye.

Now, my fear of guns had long since worn off, but I still despised them with a passion. Upon seeing this woman, I dropped the candle, allowing the flame to catch onto the gas and send everything to hell.

I was shot three times, running away. I didn't care if someone spotted me, because after the stunt I pulled burning down half the military building, I was kind of doomed. Just as long as I got away and wasn't put into a stone cell underground again, I was satisfied.

However, I didn't have much of a place to head to. And I was stopped before I got too far anyways.

This was how the sequence played out: Hawkeye appears; best shot in all the military. She begins to fire, and I turn tail and head the opposite way at top speed. She follows, but I lose her, turning into an alley to avoid a construction road block ahead. I scale a wall, using a final boost to throw my weight up and onto the flat roof, effectively rolling onto Mustang's shiny, polished black boots.

Wherein he then pointed a gun at my head, and Havoc and Breda tied my hands and feet. I didn't resist; I was kind of in a state of shock and realization. The road block had probably been set up by them, too…

But… "How did you know I was heading for the Fuhrer's house?" I asked with childishly wide eyes, feeling altogether helpless in the situation. Of course, I had the advantageous knowledge that I could break out of the ropes at any given moment, but there were things that (judging by the look on Mustang's face) apparently needed to be cleared up. And I had a nasty bruise where I landed that was taking its sweet time to heal up.

Not to mention the five or so bullet holes in my back.

"You mentioned several times since we met your dislike and avoidance of King Bradley." Roy informed me.

"We took it as a lead," Havoc continued, knawing on an unlit cigarette (the smoke would've given them all away), "and a chance. Looks like it turned out for the better." He and Breda stood up, then pointed their guns at my head as well.

"Damn…" I muttered, regretting my unfortunate love of spilling secrets. I wondered if they were going to throw me in a cell, or if Roy regrets assisting in my capture previously. "So… are you going to toss me underground again? Or are you going to try killing me? Last I checked, that didn't work. The proof happens to be the living, breathing, Homunculus sitting before your very eyes."

And without further ado, no one said anything, giving me some time to hum Kelas, which had been playing about my head for a while, but ironically was used for the FMA movie.

Eventually, Breda broke. "What's that song?"

"Hm? Kelas. A gypsy song, I think." I feigned ignorance of the details; I didn't know much about the song specifically, but I'd watched the movie maybe two times. I pondered idly if the storyline would carry the characters (myself maybe included) to that end, but gave up, recognizing that now that I couldn't die, I had less value of what living was and figured that I had all the time in the world, almost literally.

Even while I sat there humming, no one did anything. I glanced up.

"Uhm… so what exactly happens now? Repeat questions from before. Underground cell or no?"

"You sound like you want to go back to that cell."

"Quite bluntly, hell no. That thing wasted away a good month of my beloved and oh-so-fleeting life (taste some sarcasm, bitches) and I'd rather not have a repeat experience. But honestly, I'd love to know what happens next, seeing as my wonderful psychic skill is suddenly lost after I changed everyone's storylines."

It was fairly confusing to pretty much all of them, but they didn't get much time to muse it over in their heads as another gun click joined us all on that rooftop as the sun went down.

I could see the flames behind me, still. They kept growing.

Riza had caught up, and was right along with everyone else, pointing deadly weapons at my brain and making sure that my back was to the drop below. Now, this intimidation technique would have worked if I was human and could die, but unfortunately all I did was relish the similar light of the fire and the sunset.

"Want to know what happens next?" Hawkeye asked. I guessed it was a question that I wasn't supposed to answer.

Mustang finished off what Hawkeye had begun. "We're going to see how long you last."

And with that, Breda closed his eyes, and they all imbedded led bullets within my skull.

Which healed and fell to the floor.

Then they shot me again.

And again.

And again.

After the fifth time, I blanked out from the pain.

* * *

**A/N: So, I'm starting to not like where this story is going.**

**Actually, I love the fact that Kit went crazy-- totally unplanned, but useful in the storyline. But I'm talking about the next chapter, that I might have to completely rewrite... No, wait, ideas are coming... muahahaha! **

**Okay, let me escape to my imagination. Busy yourselves with more fanfiction... or watch Moulin Rouge.**

**Reccommended song: The Kinslayer - Nightwish.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Curiosity Is A Murder Weapon

The thing that kept me hanging around was pure curiosity. When I came to, fully healed and with a bit of a headache, I was in a room… but at least this one had a window. I knew I could easily break through it, the only thing keeping me from doing so was Fallman. He'd been sitting in the corner, but stood up and opened the door to notify Mustang that I was awake.

"What's this really about, Mustang?" I asked him in anger. Nothing was being clear enough for me to understand.

"This is really about… proving a point." He replied. I took a guess,

"So you're trying to push me over the edge?"

"I want to see how long you can last."

"I'm not _like _the rest of the Homunculi!" I shouted at him. "I won't kill you or the rest of your guys, if that's what you're trying to get me to do!"

He stared at me impassively.

"Say something." I glared at him.

"You're a Homunculus, Kit. You can't die… or so everyone thinks. I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you could find a way to stop existing on your own."

I stared, eyes wide. "I'm _fourteen, _Mustang. You can't expect me to attempt suicide when I've already died once!" I stopped, not knowing where I was going, and then a thought came to me. "You… really don't know how Homunculi can die, do you?"

This kind of made him pause, and he waited for me to speak. No, he didn't know how we die.

"You have to have a piece of the body of whoever I was in a past life. If you have it near, it can kill me." I glanced at my hands, curled into fists on my lap. Burnt and fire-smelling clothes hung off my body, and my black sweater was full of bullet holes.

As Mustang took in this information, there were footsteps and voices outside as a door opened. "Mustang—," Said an unfamiliar girl's voice, "What exactly are you planning to do with—,"

Mustang stepped to the side as he turned around, viewing a girl who looked maybe my age, with reddish golden hair that reached past her shoulders. Jeans and a white t-shirt made up her clothes, and with her hand still on the doorknob, she froze, staring at me.

"Holy shit," she whispered. I just stared.

I breathed in sharply, swallowing, then decided to speak. "M-Maggy?"

"Jess—what—," She rounded on Mustang, raising her voice in the process. "What the **hell **is going on here?!"

"I'd like to say the same," I remarked to the man, but quieter.

"You two know each other?" Was all the idiot said.

Maggy and I began speaking at the same time.

"I knew her before—,"

"Did you _die, _Jess?—,"

"—and we hadn't spoken for four years, but—,"

"—best **friends** in elementary—,"

"WHOA! One at a time." Mustang stopped us, and silence took over, a little awkwardly, before I turned to Maggy.

"Did you die too, Maggy?"

"…Yeah. A disease that started in my lungs and killed me from suffocation before it reached my heart."

I just kind of sat there for a moment, remembering the dreams that I used to have when Cody was around, the predictions, the glimpses into what was happening back home. Wait—was Cody the cause of it all? "I should've known," I muttered, before saying, "I was kidnapped for a week before they shot me dead."

I settled my gaze intently on Maggy, trying to find if she had an Ouroboros anywhere… and she did, on the inside of her left ankle. It was covered with a sock, but the material slipped a little. I decided not to say anything, because she apparently had Mustang's trust still.

"Say, where am I right now?"

"My house." Maggy answered.

"You have a _house_? But you're **my **age!"

"Well, it's kind of more like an abandoned prison…"

"Oh, okay then." I turned to Mustang. "You let her live in an abandoned building?! How could you?!"

"Well, I've also been trying to kill you for the past two months…" He debated. He had an odd look on his face, like he was trying to solve a really annoying math problem.

I sighed.

"Well then, since its Maggy's house, I suppose she should be the one to call the shots! So what d'you say, Maggy, gonna let me go free?"

"Yes, of course. When they said they wanted to hold a Homunculus hostage, I thought it would be someone else, not _you_." She offered me a hand to help me up off the bed. Now standing, I turned to Mustang.

"I'd shake your hand and say 'nice doing business with you', but the whole trying-to-kill-me business has got me a little bit suspicious. Please don't mind me." I offered a smile that was a little more genuine, then turned to Maggy and gave her a big hug. "I should've sent more letters," I whispered to her, knowing that it was fully my fault that we'd fallen out of contact. Strangely, I didn't feel the least bit guilty.

In reality, I didn't feel like I knew this person at all. There was no happiness, sadness or regret, when I looked at her. Not like when I thought about my past life with Micah or my family.

"It's okay. We're here now, right?"

"Yeah." I stepped back and looked into her brown eyes. "One more thing, though… you should come with me. I dunno where I'm going, yet, but I think we can help each other."

She knew what I meant. After all, her Ouroboros was where she could easily find it on her own. Mine was kind of in a place that was equivalent to the back of my head. Maggy smiled at me, and wrapped a hand around my arm. "Mustang, I'm going to try and take care of my friend here, so please don't kill her any more."

With that, we turned our backs on Fallman and Mustang, leaving them in a 'what just happened?' state.

I smiled.

Maggy wasn't Micah, but back when we were in contact, we were practically sisters anyways. With Maggy here, I knew everything was going to be okay... No. No, it wasn't going to be okay. It was just a bit more complicated, and I had someone else to look out for besides myself.

"Hey, Maggy…"

"Hmm?"

"Did you ever get into Anime?"

"Would I be here if I wasn't?"

We laughed. Then the mood sobered. "I saw it, you know," I told her.

"Saw…?"

"You dying. When I was here, I got a dream with you in the hospital…" I stopped. I'd also gotten a vision of MICAH dying. That meant… good god, all my friends were dropping dead, left and right! WHY?

I certainly hoped that my wishes to have a familiar face weren't taken seriously by the Fates, else everyone I ever viewed as a sibling-like best friend would die.

"Jessie, are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, my name here is Kit. It was a nickname from back home," I told her, then continued, "I also had a dream of Micah, another good friend of mine, dying in the street… So if anything, we should keep an eye out for her."

Maggy stopped walking.

The girl's 'house', this abandoned prison, was placed in between a hazard of hills and bushes and more than a few boulders that scattered the landscape. Behind the building stood Central; we walked away from it, heading who-knows-where, but keeping in mind that we were Homunculi. We weren't humans, and our endurance could carry us for days.

I read the look on her face, one of deep thought and slight fear. "Did you have dreams, too?"

"Y-yes… It was of a man, I don't even know who he was, but he died of a stroke or something. Uh—dark hair, blue eyes. He looked about forty, maybe."

"Okay. So pretty much, keep an eye out for anyone who isn't Amestrian or Xingese."

"Xing-a-what?"

"Xingese—like Chinese, but the country of Xing is to the west, I believe. Across some big desert or other."

"Let's avoid deserts, too. Never really liked them all that much."

"Nah, me neither."

We continued to walk in silence for a while, not bothering to pick a direction. But maybe Maggy knew where she was going. Maybe we were headed right into another military city, this time with Maggy as an accomplice. Who knows—she and Mustang could have set it all up so I would trust Maggy, a familiar face, an old friend, someone who was supposed to be on my side.

But… no. I didn't trust anyone anymore, so why bother making a fuss about it? I kept my facial expression straight, and resisted reaching for my lighter. I could see flames behind my eyes every time I blinked—I should find something to somehow feed this need for fire. Maybe I could start smoking, like Havoc.

"Je—uh, Kit. Kit, you there?"

"Nope. Or maybe I am. I'm not too sure…" I grinned at my friend. My friend that I didn't trust. The untrustworthy friend.

Maggy laughed, taking my words to be just one big game. But that was life, wasn't it? "I was wondering where we should head. You know, maybe a hotel in a small town for the night—it's getting a little dark."

"Yes, that'd be an idea…" I looked down at our feet on the dirt path. "Say, Maggy… Why is your Ouroboros red?"

"I dunno, it just is. Maybe yours is too?"

I pulled the ribbon off my neck and swept the hair off to the side, turning the back of my head to her.

"Yup. Yours is red too."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

"I wonder if it's because we remember who we are."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I really don't know. Don't ask me."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I really don't care anymore."

I reattached the ribbon, bell tinkling, just as we approached a town. Once again, I ignored the ineligible writing that proclaimed the town's name and stepped suavely through the gates, redheaded girl in tow. Somewhere along the way we discovered an Inn, and Maggy magically coughed up enough money to pay for a room with two beds.

No, really. I have no idea where she got that money.

Maybe Mustang was paying her. The military was probably going to be waiting outside my door in the morning, ready to catch me and put me into the pit of despair once again, where Envy'd save me (because I'm just that loveable) and things would continue in one big annoying circle. Truth be told, though, I wasn't sure if I wanted to run into Envy or not. It'd certainly make things interesting, to say the least.

We settled down for the night. Maggy changed into a borrowed nightgown. I stayed in my burnt rags, planning on getting something new later.

"Hey, I have this theory…"

"Go on," I could hear The Untrusted Friend roll over in her sheets to listen to me.

"To transmute a 'living human', Alchemists can easily find the proper and full ingredients. But that's only for the body, right? So they transmute this human body, add DNA or something, and voila; one human, on a silver platter.

"But there's always been something missing, and people have died because of the price to pay just to simply breathe life into a creature that doesn't quite look normal; that said creature turns into a Homunculus with no memory of its past life… I think," I paused for a breather, and then continued to rant. "So what if someone paid enough to transmute someone's _soul_ into the homunculus? The initial transmutation would still go awry, but the following Homunculus would then remember who they had been, and that could possibly have been what happened to us."

"…Wow. How much thought did you put into that?"

"It's just off the top of my head."

"There's more, isn't there?"

"…After four years, you still know me well," I told her with a nostalgic smile, before starting up on another rant. "Somewhere along the FMA storyline, it gets explained that people here can do Alchemy by using the lives or souls of people who'd died in our world. So say it takes so many souls to transmute a person to life; that's a lot of lives, clumped together. It would take some sort of weird precision work to pick out a soul—and it'd have to be the right soul—to put into the body and attempt to create the person that the Alchemist wanted. But since it's a soul from our world, and not their world, they don't quite get who they wanted, but a twisted copy of them."

"But… Homunculi here, they know who they were—Trisha Elric, in the anime, became Sloth, but regained the knowledge that she was created to be their mother, and so takes on her shape. The only objection would be Wrath, because the kid was created to be a child, but had died with no memories."

"Key thing, though, is that you're talking about the anime. If there's one thing that I've learned, its that although the people and places remain the same, events don't really plan out as they should. Nothing that has happened so far relates to the anime _or _the manga, besides the vague details such as the destruction of Lab 5. Our presence—more specifically, mine—has stirred up the storyline even more because I burnt down a few things I wasn't supposed to, maybe killed a person here or there." I let out a breath, trying to relax as I stared at the unmoving ceiling fan. "There's no storyline, anymore. I've screwed things up royally, and the best part is that I don't give a shit." I laughed, something in my voice twisting like a dying snake before dying out. The air we breathed was dry, and made my voice sound rougher than it usually was.

Maggy didn't say anything after that. She was probably disturbed by a thing or two that I said, but I still was platonic in my feelings towards the cause-and-effect that I had on others. There was a silent agreement that we were to fall asleep.

I didn't, though. Fall asleep. I didn't fall asleep, because I still didn't trust Maggy, and I still hadn't burned anything in a long while.

So I set fire to the Inn.

I was emotionless to the idea of burning a bunch of sleeping innocents—I just didn't care. I felt it was oddly necessary. I made sure to steal several boxes of cigarettes, and more than one extra lighter, placing it all in a stolen bag that I slung around my neck, allowing it to rest on my hip. The final snatch was a new set of clothes, which I changed into the moment I found them—dark sleeveless turtleneck, and black pants.

I only stared for a few minutes at the flames that swept up and consumed the wooden Inn. Then the screams started, and it was time that I hightailed it out of there, humming a little tune as I went.

How old was I?

The question spun around my head.

I was still fourteen, wasn't I? Or maybe my age was defined by the time I've lived in _this _world, in cruel little Amestris, rather than the number of years that I'd held a consciousness, a soul.

How long had it been since I died, since I passed through the gate and landed my sorry ass in the middle of a place I wasn't so sure it was fun to be in anymore?

I briefly thought of what I'd said to Mustang, about how Homunculi were killed. A piece of myself. A piece of myself in a former life… but would that mean the world beyond the Gate, where my consciousness, where _I _was from originally? No—I settled on the idea that there had been someone—me—who lived in Amestris previously. Who died, and who had someone who cared enough to attempt human transmutation. Meaning that unless they cremated my body and threw my ashes to the winds, there was still a way for me to die.

It was kind of comforting, that thought. _I could still die._ Just not in the way that any normal person could. Because I wasn't human, and will never be again. It was just healthier for me if I didn't think about it.

But if I wasn't going to die… where was I supposed to go? I couldn't go back to the Curtis's house, it was too dangerous. Same with Envy—if I were to get bored, I'd head out and burn something down again, going full circle. Speaking off, the green-haired Homunculus was probably going to murder me if I ever ran into him aga—

"Kit?"

"Shit."

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?!"

"Hi Envy, nice to see you too."

…What was **Envy **doing here?

* * *

**A/N: Hey, check it out. No poems or riddles in this chapter. Wow.**

**I get the feeling that it's going to get a bit more weirdly serious from this point on. I'm not sure if this is still a romance of EnvyxOc, but I'll do my best to steer it in that direction, despite of all the Kit-is-batshit-crazy-like-an-old-cat-lady stuff. I don't really like that she's 'crazy', but her 'craziness' is more of serious mood swings, where her moods go so high that her actions become more extreme than they should be.**

**Example: Maggy was in the way. Kit ran off, burning the building Maggy slept in.**

**I'm not sure if Maggy is still alive, but I never really wanted to add more OCs to the story, it just messes it up more.**

**...Some people said that they enjoyed Kit's insanity.**

**I must say, as much as it bruises the story... it's fun to write. Not everything she says has to make sense.**

**-HW-**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Guzzling Fabric Softener Is Just My Luck

"Envy," slithered a woman's voice—Lust. "do you know this… girl?" She spoke as if I were some piece of garbage, not worth anyone's time. All the better for me if it meant that she didn't suspect me of being a Homunculus as well. I was better than her anyways—I had a soul.

And a lighter. Can't forget that.

Envy hissed, rage clear on his face. I shook my head, vaguely in a negative manner. "No. I ran into her once. That's it."

"…And?" Lust could clearly tell there was a bit more to the story. To keep up the twisted illusion, I put on a sassy façade.

"And I bought him dinner. That enough for you, dear?"

Lust didn't like me. Her expression mirrored one of disgust and/or dislike. I smirked and decided that I didn't want to hang around her anymore. Too much trouble, and I never really liked lying anyways. I was getting better at the lying, sure, but that didn't mean that I had to lie all the time.

I slithered closer to the Homunculi, slipping between them and placing a hand momentarily on Envy's shoulder, "See you 'round, luv."

And that was it; I just walked away.

But of course, it could never be that easy, could it? No. Guzzling something strange, like highlighter ink or fabric softener would be easier, no matter how toxic.

Lust watched me take a few steps away, before extending a nail to shoot through my shoulder, pinning me with my face against the wall of the nearest building.

"Fuck," I said, wincing as Lust closed in, the motion twisting the nail in my shoulder and digging into my flesh. My mistake was that I didn't show any surprise that Lust could extend her fingernails like so, and thus I dug deeper into my six-foot hole. I was _so _dead.

Figuratively, of course.

But knowing the rest of the Homunculi, they'd bring me to 'Father' and somehow blackmail me into helping them destroy the world.

"Lust—what're you…" Envy attempted to protest, and I wondered how much he cared for a random girl such as I, and ended up grinning. Envy wouldn't care too much, but we were alike.

"There's a little more to this than what I can see, Envy. Who is this girl?"

"Hi, I'm Kit, nice to meet you. Can you, uh, un-pin me, please? It kind of hurts," I rambled, a little nervous and more than a bit curious as to what Lust was going to do.

"This girl," Lust said to Envy, "knows something, doesn't she?"

"What—,"

"Envy," the lady took on a condescending tone, as if lecturing a child, "you greeted her, recognized her by first glance, _and _she responded. That's **not like you.**"

"AGH. Damn." Another nail had shot through my opposite shoulder, effectively keeping me from any upper body movement.

"So who is she?"

"Fullmetal was trying to kill her. That's how we met."

"**Not like you at all, **Envy."

"Well technically, _you_ were trying to kill _Fullmetal_, and I threw a tin of mints at you. From there it kind of escalated into what could possibly be described as Fullmetal trying to kill me." I interjected, figuring that if I can't die, I could pretty much do whatever.

"Kit, what—,"

"Hey, if I'm immortal, might as well make the best of it."

I then flung a leg backwards and into Lust's crotch—even if she wasn't male, I knew from experience in my past life that it still hurt—probably (or, what could have been on a human) bruising the bone. She pulled on nail out enough for me to twist and yank them both out fully, spinning and kicking her in the gut before legging it down an alley.

Lust, with her funky nails, would easily be able to tag me, so I took multiple turns through the streets until I jumped down a manhole and into the sewers. Hopefully, they didn't see. My hand closed around the lighter in my pocket, more for comfort; I didn't need it, there were lights that lined the tunnels just enough for me to see where I was going.

Being non-human also had its perks, and I discovered catlike see-in-the-dark vision once again.

For a moment, it was silent, and then a crash erupted from somewhere behind me, farther than I would have guessed, signalling that Lust figured out where I was and was hot on my trail. I ran faster, knowing that if I could beat Envy in a race while I was weakened, I could most definitely leave Lust in the dust whilst in full health. (1)

I grinned. This just became an incredibly fun game of cat and mouse.

The lights built into the walls flickered occasionally, but I barely noticed, at the speed I was going. After a good hour of just running down this or that tunnel underground, the sounds behind me stopped. I froze as well, listening carefully, but all I could hear was the gentle running water, and the occasional drip of moist rock. It seemed like I'd lost the other Homunculi…

I brought my hand up to my neck and untied the ribbon, hoping my hair was long enough to cover the Ouroboros for now. I shoved the ribbon and bell into a pocket, keeping the small piece of metal and cloth silent. A precaution, in case someone was near enough to hear me. However, my senses told me that humans didn't enter the sewers too often…

I decided to take a peek to see where I was at, and sniffed out the nearest exit, taking a good ten minutes to do so, and carefully picking my way to the surface.

The tunnel ended in a wide arch, and it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the change in scenery and that strange small flashing light, even with a hand shading my eyes.

Before me ran a clear river, reflecting the dark blue of the sky, causing the water to seem almost black. It was what caused the flash of light. Occasionally there'd be a twinkle of a star, but moving water didn't reflect anything smoothly. The light originated from the moon, of all things. My bare feet dug into dewy grass, bits of mud clinging to the soles. I wiggled my toes, enjoying the feeling, despite knowing that the hems of my pant legs were soaked by now.

There was a sound to my left, and my gaze swivelled towards it, purple stare settling into the gloom of night and catching onto the form of a person. Male, about an inch taller than me.

I closed in like some sort of panther, a freaky grin on my face. "What do we have here?" I asked, sliding up and examining the new specimen. He looked confused, like he wasn't sure if I was dangerous or not, and foolishly let me get close to him and his blue eyes. He had dark shaggy hair that fell into his eyes.

I brought my hand up and tapped a finger under his chin, making it feel like he was under a magnifying glass. He fidgeted and backed away.

Smart.

I told him so. "Smart, boy," I said, walking slowly, circling him.

"Who are you?" His gaze was suspicious, but not scared. Understandable, seeing as I was only fourteen.

Oh, but I was dangerous. I knew that I was terribly dangerous.

And insane.

Like hell he knew that, though.

"I am fire," I whispered.

"What?" He took another cautionary step back as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a lighter.

"But, see, fire needs something to _burn._" I momentarily fiddled with the idea of setting him on fire, but then figured that he'd live. There's a river right in front of us anyways. "So, if you don't want to get burned, kid, you'll do me a favour."

"W-what do you mean?"

"It's a threat. Do as I say, or I'll burn you and your town alive," I punctuated my sentence by snapping open the lighter in my hand, letting the flame lick my finger. I turned away from the small blaze to stare straight at the boy. "Really, all you have to do is lie. If you find a tall lady, with long dark hair, a nice body, and a funny looking circle shape right here—," I pointed to my chest as I described Lust, "—just tell her I headed _that _way. M'kay?" I pointed in a random direction. "And if anyone else asks if you've seen me—tell them the same thing."

I brought the fire close to his face, and he nodded in agreement.

I smiled. "Great. Thanks. What's your name, kid?"

"Uh—Samuel."

"Well then, Samuel, nice doing business with you. I guess I'll be off, then," I said, snapping the lighter closed and shoving it in my pocket in a single movement, pulling out my hand when I grabbed the ribbon and bell.

Seeing as I wasn't going to be travelling by sewer too much, it wasn't going to echo. I fondly tied it around my neck, letting the bell jingle a bit as I walked away, humming a tune.

"_Please don't go, I want you to stay…"_

* * *

**A/N:**

**(1) I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh immensely when I ended up rhyming 'Lust' and 'Dust'.**

**What I said in the previous chapter still stands-- writing crazy people is just really really fun, but in all honesty I've clearly gotten bored of this story. (That's my excuse for not updating then randomly posting a Kingdom Hearts story). So there'll be a really strange and annoyingly Mary-Sue twist in the following chapter (which I shall work on as soon as I'm done with this).**

**Love!**

**-HW-**

P.S. The phrase at the very end of the chapter is from a depressing song called Illusion by VNV Nation. Listen to it. And Viva La Pop by DJ Earworm.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Wait… What? Say that again.

I sat by a puddle. It was quiet, but I wasn't.

"This is stupid, Cody. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. What was I supposed to gain by burning down random government buildings? What point am I trying to prove? And… I'm really really hungry. I've made some stupid mistakes, I guess…" I kept babbling on to the thin air, one hand on my head, the other resting on my knee.

'_Would you like to try again?'_

"At what, making mistakes?" I froze, absorbed the information, and looked up to see, well, my dead talking dog. You remember him, the one Homunculi only could see? Yeah, Cody. "What're you doing here?" I spat out, frowned, and looked away into the puddle.

'_I am attempting to fix a mistake I made.'_

"And what mistake was that?"

'_Helping you.'_

"What?"

'_By helping you as much as I did, I upset the way things were supposed to be. However I have been given the power to place you back to the beginning of the story. Is this your wish?'_

I could go back to the past? "Does this mean that every time something gets messed up, I can just go back and do it over again?"

'_No. This power is temporary. Once you are at the beginning, I cannot interfere again. You will not see me after this.'_

"Oh." I had to think about this for a moment. I'd been over the death of this dog four years ago, so although there was loss, it was an easy loss. On the other hand, if I took up this offer I could make sure Ed wasn't hostile, that Mustang never tries to shoot me, that Envy doesn't get in trouble because of me… so many possibilities. Goodness. I generally had no choice…

But I'd have to do something about this, uh, flame addiction.

"What about my pyromania?" I asked Cody. "What exactly am I supposed to do about that, if I go back to the past?"

'_Your interests are none of my concern. I would suggest you preoccupy yourself with something else, however.'_

"Okay. Mundane ways of solving problems. I can do that. I was human once, you know."

'_I remember, Young One.'_

"So…" I paused again, sighed, and looked up, arms resting on my knees. "I guess… I guess I'll have to accept. But, um… I'll miss you, Cody."

'_As will I, child. Best of luck to you.'_

And then it was a little more like an acid trip than anything else (not that I'd know what that is… but certain descriptions I'd been given in a past life generally covered it). Cody charged towards me and jumped through my head, and I fell forwards into the puddle—don't ask how that works, all gravitational laws and otherwise never really applied anymore. So, falling through a puddle.

I could see, but it was more like trying to watch the side of the road as I'm driving by at 120km/hour. Colours, shapes, and faces blurred together, and I vaguely recognized that these could possibly be my memories.

It began with a gunshot, then there was white, and a large door.

_Gawd, again? Alrighty, time to go to Amestris, I guess._

_**Do you wish to go to Amestris?**_

_Where else is there?_

_**The Nothing.**_

_Then yes, Amestris it is._

_**Is that your wish?**_

_Most certainly. …Yes._

"_**Equivalent exchange." **_I could feel my mouth moving with the words, the Gate speaking through me and with me. _**"An eye for an eye, a life for a life."**_

It was quiet again. Hands reached for me, grabbed my body and pulled me into the darkness, but it wasn't dark at all. It was Amestris. The hands, souls, touched my arms and brushed across my face, but still they did not tear me apart. With a sigh, they set me on my back on the ground and retreated to the Nothing.

I was not in the Nothing. I was in Amestris… and everything was to start over again.

Cautiously, I sat up, surprised I wasn't paralyzed like before. I recalled a fragment of a conversation, Cody's voice telling me that this field was a midpoint between two cities. I vaguely recognized the place, actually, I'd passed by it when heading between Dublith and Central.

I decided to head to Central. If I could get into Mustang's good books (I don't think he ever seriously hated me) Ed probably wouldn't try to kill me as much. Yay. So, as fast as I could, I ran Homunculus-fast towards Central.

I guess I spoke too soon, because I was barely within sights of the gates (when I started walking at a normal human pace so as not to appear suspicious) things started getting lighter, brighter, and everything was definitely happy. Quicker than last time, I passed out.

It always seemed to be voices that came first as I wake up. Always. Because now I knew there was a group of people muttering around me. They were probably standing over me or something, and they were all speaking quietly enough that I couldn't hear anything specific.

Soon enough I felt the sunlight on my face be blocked out, and the drowsiness that was just starting to resettle around me was shaken away when the person blocking the sun pressed a hand to my shoulder and moved me onto my back.

I muttered unintelligibly and tried to open my eyes in a squint. The sun behind whoever it was created the person into a silhouette, and I couldn't see a single feature besides the short hair. Probably male…

"Hey, you can't sleep here," he said, shaking me again. I swatted his hand away.

"Gimme a moment," I slurred.

He did; he sat there and waited until I decided I may as well sit up. He wasn't leaving.

And then my thoughts collected themselves. I had something to lose, now.

"SHITFUCK." I sat up straight, eyes wide and taking in everything I could see. The man crouched beside me had a crowd of civilians behind him. The people dispersed as soon as they saw I was okay, and I was left with the man next to me. "Where am I?" I asked tensely, trying to make snap decisions in my head. Should I confront Mustang? Or was it 'fate' that we'd meet anyways, and I could sit back and—

Huh.

Sitting back works, but sleeping does the job, definitely. Although the man sitting next to me wasn't exactly Roy Mustang, he certainly was from the military. And I had to keep from saying his name out loud—Maes Hughes.

Of course, he noticed me staring at him, so I blurted the first thing that came to mind. In retrospect, it wasn't very smart at all. "You're going to die."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're in the military," I covered up, "the Dogs always die."

"…I suppose they do," he said with a sad smile, but continued on regardless. "What were you doing on the side of the road?"

"Sleeping."

"Really? Don't you have a home?"

"Uh, well. I think so." My initial answer was to say yes, but I had to stop and think; I had no place to go. Holy shit. "No, maybe I don't…" I leaned back on my hands. "Maybe I should head to the East. Or South. Heard they got good weather there." I started muttering to myself, getting a little lost in thought, stupidly, because the man next to me still hadn't left me alone. "I guess the crazy's still with me. 'S not like I could get _rid _of it, what was I thinking? The fire, though—I really should start up smoking. I'm not going to _die._"

"Actually, smoking is very dangerous. I've got a friend who smokes. He keeps coughing."

"You're still here."

"Yes."

"Dammit." I sighed and stood up—he followed suit, towering over me by a foot and a half. "So, um, thanks? Though I'm not sure what anyone did."

"Wait a moment. Do you have some place to stay?"

"No. But I don't think I'm sticking around."

"What makes you say that?"

I looked around, begging my surroundings to give me a topic of distraction. Trying to be convincing, I stared at the sign above the arch in the city wall and frowned in 'frustration'. "What does that say?" I pointed.

"Central… You can't read Amestrian?"

"Nope. And that is why I'm not sticking around. Never was one for roots. They always got in the way of the sewage pipes." The crazy was stuck with me. And now I was speaking in WAY too literal terms that somehow associated with the metaphorical.

Wow, I was confusing.

"Well then, if you ever need some help, come find me; Maes Huges. Okay?"

"Sure." I shrugged, nonchalant. "East would be good…" I mumbled.

Maes Hughes was gone, and I decided I should be too. I didn't have a map, unfortunately, so I just looked around and chose the lucky direction.

Truthfully, I reasoned it out; if the place I woke up in was between Dublith and Central, then it was South. I ran North. If I thought back to the one or two times I looked up a map of Amestris, East City was southeast from Central.

Southeast I went.

I arrived in two hours, out of breath, and quickly discovered that the military HQ in East City was very similar to the one in Central, just smaller. It was the only pristinely white building, everything else was a little more worn from the weather.

Also, the city had the occasional military man wandering about. They weren't alchemists (from what I could see; they had no obvious pocketwatch) but you could tell just from the strict way they walked.

It made me a little curious as to what would be different this time around.

And then I remembered the Ouroboros. Dammit.

I went to the first gift shop I found and swiped a thick black ribbon, tying it around my neck in a hurry. The knot sat a bit to the left of my neck, in the front, because I didn't have a cool metal clasp this time and the widest part of the ribbon had to cover the back. So it was now reasonably fashionable while still doing its job.

I mourned the loss of my bell for all of ten seconds, the figured I could get another one some other time.

I ended up wandering the city, mapping it out; backstreets and sewers included. I stumbled across the slums at one point and decided to leave them for later; I was too clean to fit in there yet. Sure, I did look fairly grimy, though, which unfortunately made me stand out against the cleaner part of town, but people would stare at a random lonely child wandering through any part of town.

Child.

I wonder how this affected my age? Mentally, I was approaching an insane fifteen right now, but I was no higher than fourteen physically, and with my immortal state, I wouldn't grow any older. So I might as well begin counting the mental years and ignore the rest.

Having learned my lesson, I quietly ghosted on the edge of the streets, carefully making my way around the crowded ones and not bumping into a single person. Observing the crowds showed just how rare it was to see people on their lonesome; practically everyone had a friend with them, and I was reminded of the faint history of the war. I didn't know much about it, unfortunately, just that it was the homunculi that started it.

I had leaned against a building to think over these thoughts and puzzle out the writing depicting the name of a shop in Amestrian before deciding that I could possibly convince Roy to teach me to read—it'd be a lot more fun now that I could keep the Ouroboros a secret, and I didn't have to bother the Curtis family anymore. I supposed it was back to Central for me. Turns out Hughes may see me sooner than he thought.

I pushed off the wall with a smile at the bright future I'd conjured up and smashed right into some random person passing the street and fell back to the ground, groaning with the stinging of my backside. The person I'd run into stopped and waited until I stood back up, then latched onto my right arm.

"What did you take?"

"What?" I looked up at the taller man's face and flinched—wow, this world really did like to throw Karma and fate in my face. Hello, Roy Mustang. "Oh, you think—sorry, sir, I'm not a pickpocket."

"Really? Convince me otherwise."

"Uh, let's start with the lack of stolen items," I lied, having just stolen the ribbon I used around my neck. Well, I hadn't stolen anything of value… so far. "Then continue with the 'I don't live in East City'."

"Really."

"Really. Search me."

He did. It was scary.

"I feel violated now," I commented, but the ribbon had done what it was meant to, and he found nothing out of the ordinary.

"You don't live in East City?"

"No. Must you military always interrogate me every time I reach a city?"

"How did you know I was military?"

"Honey, your kind killed the pocket-watch fashion statement." I pointed to the chain hanging out of his pocket, and he furiously pushed it back in.

I grinned, finding joy in making him angry. Then I remembered that I wanted him to teach me how to read.

"Say, you must have a good education, right?" I quizzed.

"…Yes," he replied, suspicious.

"Could you teach me how to read Amestrian?"

"Get your parents to do it." He turned and began to strut away, but I followed with a quick jog.

"Don't have any."

"Relatives. Guardians."

"Don't have any."

He stopped and looked at me.

"It's not _that _uncommon."

"Weren't you put in foster care or something?"

"Truthfully, buddy, I don't really think that's as easy as it sounds. You kind of have to have the paperwork to say that you don't have a next-of-kin."

He huffed, and began walking towards the military HQ without acknowledging my presence.

Silence is assent, as one of my teachers-from-another-life had once said. When I still went to school.

The building was bustling with blue-uniformed men and the occasional woman. Mustang ploughed through them and headed up two flights of stairs to get to an office with his name on the door (which I found interesting because before, he'd had an office in Central, not East). Inside were several desks and then one near the window, just like in the manga, as well as Riza Hawkeye with arms full of papers and Havoc, smoking a cigarette indoors.

I kept away a grin and followed Roy to his desk like a puppy, seating myself on the windowsill and ignoring the looks Hawkeye and Havoc were giving me.

The door opened once more and Breda walked in, pausing to close the door as he watched me.

"Colonel, sir, who is that?" he asked.

I grinned. "I'm a prophet."

"She's an idiot," Mustang said at the same time, probably trying to tick me off, but I just laughed.

* * *

**A/N: So I'd actually planned on posting this chapter up at around 3pm Monday, but there was a serious delay concerning a family member's health and I had to head to the hospital. I'm back now, tired, starving, eating KD, and wanting to take a shower.**

I need sleep.

**-HW-**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Pfft, No Way!

Though Mustang had plenty of practice pissing Edward off to know what buttons to press, it wasn't that easy with me. No, I was too elated at the fact that I could sit here and not get shot at to let anything else bother me. (I did eye the guns in the holsters warily, however.)

The rest of the crew found this to be great fun, as my unaffected mood caused Roy to get more and more angry with me, until he roared randomly, "Why are you still here?!"

I laughed with the lot of them, but quickly answered (so he wouldn't try to shoot me), "Because I wanna learn."

I didn't specify what I wanted to learn, and thus he assumed I meant Amestrian. Sure, that was on my list, but a military colonel should know better. I could be a spy gathering intel for enemy armies. Not like he knew who I was at all, so why was he trusting me so much?

I leaned my shoulder against the side of the window sill and spotted a small slightly rectangular cork board stuck to the left wall, much like the one in Previous Central. This one had a few notes and reminders, and a small section on the Scar investigation (so I suppose that's begun, then, like in the manga), and reminded me severely of the Previous board that had been covered in my riddles and the notes the crew had written to puzzle them out.

"Hey, Mustang," I said, a little more sober. For old times sake, I asked, "What's greater than God, more evil than the devil, the rich want it, the poor have it, and if you eat it you die?"

There was a momentary silence as the men looked at each other, and Mustang turned his chair around to face me. I directed my gaze away from the cork board (though he did see what I was staring at) and smiled a little at him.

"What's the point of this?"

"Nostalgia, I guess. Got an answer?"

"…No."

"Nothing." I paused for dramatic effect, then continued. "Nothing is greater than a god; nothing is more evil than the devil. The rich want nothing. The poor have nothing. If you don't eat, you starve to death."

Roy didn't say anything to that. He probably thought there was some sort of hidden meaning behind it. For all he knew, there could be. But right now…

Cody. Cody was no more. He was Nothing, in this place. I had seen the Nothing when I passed through the Gate a second time.

Did Cody use his life to give me the chance to correct both our mistakes?

I had no control over my facial expression, and must have had an incredibly depressed look on my face, because Riza asked what was wrong. I snapped out of the thoughts in a flash and reassured her that I was fine.

I wondered if I should restart the merciless pranks again (repeating ones from Previous, and possibly bringing up new ones) but I figured I'd just stick to riddles for now. I'll give them a new one each day… maybe I'll say it verbally, or maybe I'll leave a note.

Oh, the possibilities.

And having the wonderful ability of pissing Mustang off without doing anything will surely get me into Ed's good books. All I had to do was keep the Homunculus thing a secret. And henceforth I shall refer myself to an immortal prophet.

Because really, that's what I was. I couldn't die, and I knew bits and pieces of the future. Cody always said to go with my gut instinct, too, and my gut is ordering me to stick around the military.

Which reminds me.

"Have you heard of someone from Central called Maes Hughes?" I asked out of the blue, once again causing everyone within the room to pause their work and stare at me incredulously.

"Sir…" One of the guys said, but I couldn't tell who it was. I was watching Mustang.

And I should admit that I was a little scared and kicking myself on the inside for bringing that up, because Roy now had an incredibly suspicious look on his face, and he was glaring at me.

I squeaked. "Please don't shoot me!" I cried desperately, "I just ran into him the other day! He was being nice, but it was a little obvious that he was from the military so I was just wondering if you've met him before!" And breathe.

Silence. Again.

Mustang relaxed slightly, and Hawkeye took her hand off her gun. I could breathe again.

"I've never heard of him before," Mustang stated.

Liar. But I didn't want to get guns pointed at me anyways, seeing as my only escape was through the third floor window, so I kept quiet and curled up into a ball. No one bothered me for the next hour as I tried to get over my fear of guns. It was a little amusing, though, that someone who couldn't die had such a fear.

I dunno. Guns are just scary.

Slowly, the office emptied out as Breda, Havoc and Hawkeye were given assignments elsewhere. I hadn't moved from the windowsill since I mentioned Hughes, but I'd lifted my head off my knees after a while and just stared out the window.

"What's your name?" Roy asked.

"Kit."

He shuffled some papers. Opened a drawer. Scribbled with a pen.

"You have purple eyes."

I winced. I'd hidden the Ouroboros, but I was pretty sure there was no such thing as a human with purple eyes. Red eyes, of course. Maybe I could forge a story of mixed heritage? An Ishvalan and a blue-eyed Amestrian?

Doubtful.

"They hadn't always been like that." I told him. He probably already guessed that I was a homunculus. "I remember when they weren't."

"Really?"

"…Yeah."

He shuffled more papers, then stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to face me. All things considered, if this was around the time that Scar was terrorizing East City, Roy shouldn't know about Homunculi yet. But he did, and I was more than a little confused, and he was starting to freak me out. No doubt he wanted to kill me, now.

And I hadn't even done anything. "You're going to kill me," I said slowly, trying to figure out what to do next. I couldn't die, but last time Roy was after me it led to getting captured after twenty-odd bullets to the brain. Not fun.

"No," he replied. "I won't. I don't think I can, yet."

"…You're right." I'd been trying to puzzle out the 'how does Kit die' issue since it first came to mind, and I eventually gave up and just let things happen. "Although…" I was a Homunculus. Roy figured it out.

"How many people have you killed?"

"Huh?" I looked up in surprise. What the hell? "I—uh, well. In a past life, I burned down buildings for fun. But I think I'll just take up smoking or something instead… so, at the moment, in this life, my hands are clean."

"Okay then. Here." He handed me a stack of blank papers, and began to teach me how to read and write Amestrian.

Needless to say, I was floored.

It was a little shocking to say that Mustang and I got along quite well. He told me about Ed (I pretended I'd never heard of him, keeping up with the illusion of newly born Homunculus rather than newly resurrected Homunculus) and we continually came up with new short jokes as he taught me how to write them in Amestrian. The language itself wasn't that hard to learn, really, and it was vaguely familiar, so it sunk in quick. Around noon, though, Riza burst through the doors, followed by Havoc. The woman spread out a map on the Colonel's desk and demanded they address the Scar situation.

I laughed to myself, finding the whole situation amusing, and relieved that Roy never tried to shoot me.

"You may want to be discreet about such improper declarations," Riza scolded Roy on his comment about taking over the military.

"Yeah, I will make every effort to be more careful," he turned his chair around and crossed his legs, giving me a 'this is amusing' look, and we both chuckled, knowing that he probably wouldn't care enough to remember that promise.

The door slammed open and some hairy guy walked in. "Excuse me, sir. We've just received news of an explosion on Marl River!"

"What?!" Roy exclaimed.

I jumped up. "Shit! I have to go!" I claimed, rushing out the door and down the hallway to the exit, Mustang and Hawkeye on my heels, but for a different reason. They were checking out the explosion. I needed to find Scar.

If I didn't want to be seen by Lust or Gluttony, I should stay away from the explosion site anyways, so all I did was hurry out to the river itself, in which case Roy and Riza headed upstream with their group, and I headed downstream, keeping an eye out for floating bodies. Roy gave me one last look and I waved to him, hoping he wouldn't bother me.

I had a serial killer to find. Besides, Scar wasn't mean to anyone except the military.

* * *

**A/N: Not every chapter from here on out will be as efficient in uploading. A fortunate event called Canadian snow day has graced me with the boredom to squeeze out another chapter before I lost my thought process. So here it is. And this time I'll keep up with the manga a little more, rather than just free-falling. (BTW, the events in this chapter point towards Volume 3, just so you know.)**

**And just to clarify, Canadian snow days require a LOT of snow. Not a measly three cm like out west, no. More like a foot on the ground and another foot falling ALL DAY. So, really, it's a snowstorm. **

**-HW-**

**P.S. I feel like I have literary freedom with this story, thanks to you guys and your constant encouragement. It's like no matter what I do with the characters it'll be fine. Thanks.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Unfortunately, They Don't Have Anti-Depressants Here.

I found the camp a good while from the city. Half way there I pulled Scar's unconscious body from the river so he wouldn't be found in the sewage system, and luckily managed to run into the kid who was supposed to find Scar.

The boy led me the right way to his home. The camp reminded me of the slums I often saw in movies, just strewn every which way. Tents or houses built from whatever materials on hand made up peoples homes, and there were more than enoeugh people to fill them.

The place was surprisingly clean though, the people managing to keep a piece of dignity despite what the war had done to their homeland.

Scar was taken care of immediately by the boy's grandfather and a few people who managed to be nearby when we arrived, and soon enough I was sitting outside the tent he slept in.

"Girl," I was addressed by the old man emerging from the tent, "are you aware of who this man is?"

"Yeah," I replied, not sure how much he knew and wishing I could burn down a few houses.

"Are you sure you are safe to be travelling with him?" He was concerned, I could tell. But when I looked at him, he was facing away, staring at the horizon. The ending of the blue sky.

"I'm not really— He only murders military. I just… need to convince him of something. Don't worry about your people, either, he's one of you. He won't hurt you." With my words, some of the tension in the elder's shoulders disappeared, and I smiled a little bit. It felt weird, but somehow I knew that what I said would influence the old man to help out Scar, even though he'd do so anyways from the manga.

But—and this thought just appeared to me—my coming to this world changed its path anyways. It was no wonder last time that everything was off track.

* * *

I headed back to East City when the sun started to set, knowing that it would be a few days before Scar woke up. The murderer was neatly bandaged and tucked in, so he would be fine. I, on the other hand, was covered in his blood from carrying him for so long, and definitely needed a change of clothes before Mustang—or the rest of the military—spotted me.

How the hell was I supposed to get clothes like this?

With a sigh, I decided to steal again, finding the nearest closed clothing store the moment I stepped into town.

The store I picked was strictly a men's clothes store, which was simply bad luck on my part, but I managed to make do. The lock was broken easily, but the lights stayed off. Thank goodness Amestris hadn't discovered security alarms quite yet.

I snagged a loose tank top off one of the hangers (it reminded me slightly of the basketball uniforms back on Earth, with wide shoulders) and some dark coloured shorts nearby. The change room was situated just past the cashier desk and I tried them on, surprised to find that they fit fairly well.

I had some time to think, while I was in the dark shop. I thought mostly about Cody. He said I wouldn't see him again, which was depressing, but confusing as well seeing that everyone else from the Before was here now except for him. The very act of restarting the time-line had to have taken gratuitous amounts of energy in the first place, and if Cody was working with the Homunculi then that meant he was made of souls…

Did he…

Use his life force up to save the world?

That was the strangest thought I'd ever had.

But in all seriousness, Cody could have given up his life as a sacrifice to give me the chance to 'correct our mistakes'. Shit, that's a lot of pressure on my shoulders.

I was mad. I was mad that he did such a thing in the first place, but I was furious that it made sense. How could death make sense? How did my death make sense? What about Maggy, or Micah?

How could anything make sense anymore…?

* * *

After a minor mental breakdown I managed to clear my head on the roof of a building two streets away, watching the smoke from the fire I set on the shop drift into the dark evening sky. I could hear the yells of the people, even from my position, and felt horrible. I smelt like smoke, and my face was smudged with soot and tears, and I'd burned down the life and home of some innocent people.

The only place I could think of to retreat to would be the military headquarters, and I didn't want to show this horrid, ugly Homunculus side of me to those people.

* * *

I remained on the roof until the flames died down, and only then did I head back to headquarters. It had to be easily midnight, but Mustang's office was still lit up, so I snuck through the first few floors by avoiding the military personnel or acting like I belonged.

On Mustang's floor, though, I was nearly spotted by Havoc, who had passed me on the stairs. He turned to look back, but I was already around the corner and bolting it towards the office, shutting the door firmly behind me for refuge.

"…Kit? What're you doing here?" Mustang asked from his seat. I glanced at him, then at Riza, who seemed to get some sort of message. The woman left the room in an efficient manner. I avoided eye-contact as she passed me.

Roy stood and walked around his desk cautiously. "Kit…? You smell like smoke," he stated, suspicious.

I shuddered at the reminder and sunk into the nearest chair. "Ung…" Automatically, I pulled my knees up to my chest, just noticing my random lack of shoes but completely ignoring the fact. "Guh, I'm so vile…" I muttered. So ashamed. So gross.

I needed a shower.

"Hey, calm down," Roy ordered, placing a hand on my shoulder and crouching down so he could look up at my tear-streaked face. "What happened?"

I knew that if I started telling him, I probably wouldn't know where to stop, and thus he'd learn of too many dangerous things. I shook my head violently, wiping at my eyes, and said, determined, "I shouldn't have come here. This is the worst place I could have come."

"Where else would you have gone?" Mustang responded, and I jerked.

There wasn't any place, really. I wasn't one of Scar's kind, they wouldn't welcome me, give me refuge. I refused to put the Curtis family in danger again, and I was absolutely broke, no money for a hotel room. And life was lonely, so lonely. Why couldn't I depend on someone, for once?

"Good question," I mumbled, feeling a depressing weight smothering my heart, and made a stupid decision. Just as long as I watched my words, though.

"I told—told you I used to burn down buildings, right?" He nodded. "Well, it was more for boredom than anything, and I know that sounds horrible, but it became a sort of stress reliever.

"Today I started thinking about—…a friend of mine. Cody. He, well, killed himself to give me the chance to fix our mistakes, and I _just _realized the full weight of what he'd done, what he'd risked, and I got…" I stopped, breathed. "I got anxious, claustrophobic. I broke down and burned down a shop. I shouldn't have, it was dirty, vile, of me, the owners were innocent people, I'm so _horrible—_," Mustang grabbed my hands and held them away from my face.

"Kit. Breathe." I did as he said. "You don't want to burn any more buildings, right?"

I nodded.

"Then don't. I'll buy you cigarettes, if that's what it takes. I'd rather not have any innocent casualties either." He stood, pulling me up with him and shifting his grip to my shoulders again. "And in the case of that shop, I sent my team to go take care of it. The family got out safely, with minor burns."

"You, you wouldn't _lie_ to me, would you?"

"No."

"Or—or bend truths?"

"I promise I never will."

I took a deep breath, steadying myself again. "Thank you," came my whisper, and I could just barely spot his smile as he passed me and sat down in his desk.

"Now, stop bothering me, I have paperwork to do! If you have some free time, go find Lieutenant Hawkeye and send her here."

I grinned and saluted as if I were one of his lackeys. "On my way, sir!" I laughed on my way out the door.

* * *

_He was mad._

"_I know the rules, okay?"—Did something happen?_

"_What are you doing, then"—_

"_Figuring out how far I can go—,"_

* * *

"Shit." I rubbed my temple, wondering why I was having flashbacks at a random point in time. I hadn't seen Envy in ages, not since I ran from him when he was with Lust. And that was in the Before. But if I went to look for him now, in the After, I could possibly be spotted with him, and people would think I was an acquaintance of his and automatically assume I was going to kill along beside him.

I frowned at the thought.

I was currently and very randomly in Central, around six in the morning after I slept for a few hours on the dewy grass of a park. I realized that I once again desperately needed a change of clothes after I arrived in the city and hurriedly stole a new, brighter coloured set, using my old ones as a sort of cushion so my current clothes wouldn't get too damp from the ground.

Either way, I didn't want to arouse suspicion amongst my newfound military allies by not changing clothes. Not only would that be weird, it'd be so gross. Everyone would think I was a homeless person.

Wait…

UGH. (The irony was intense, there…)

Either way, though, I was going to have to avoid the Homunculi until it was strictly necessary. In other words, when Hughes is in danger, which is directly after Ed and Al raid the fifth laboratory. I planned to stop by the area each day just to make sure. Besides that, I was certain that Scar wouldn't stay asleep more than three days at most. In the manga, the book went through everything with Hughes up to his funeral before saying anything about Scar, but it wouldn't hurt to check back at the encampment every now and then just to be sure.

But that meant that Hughes death was really close. Shit.

I heaved myself up as soon as the light of day touched the trees, mildly enjoying the quiet air of the city at dawn before packing up my older clothes and finding a trash bin to dump them. Finding the nearest alley, I hopped from wall to wall until I could haul myself to the roof and breathed deep.

Good morning, Amestris. I felt great, somehow. Despite all that happened and despite all that will happen.

But in the distance, a cloud of dust rose above the buildings, hovering in the air like it had been there for a little while, probably caused during the night. I snuck over, hoping I wasn't right, but knowing, just knowing like a prophet does, that it was the fifth laboratory. It was time to go to work, and there wasn't a second to waste. I couldn't warn anyone in the east.

I had to save Hughes.

Ugh. The weight of someone else's life on my shoulders was a lot heavier than their deaths.

* * *

**A/N: If Kit does start smoking, I'll put in a warning now: DO NOT SMOKE. Not only is it hazardous to your health, it affects your attitude towards EVERYTHING you do. Your lovers, family, work, EVERYTHING. I don't exadgerate. My brother smokes, and he's only seventeen. Luckily for all of us he started cutting down and can hold a civil conversation without blowing up in our faces.**

**Okay, that rant is over. Don't expect another chapter until January is over. Exams are starting on the 25th, and I've got lots to study for and marks to get frustrated at. **

**Worst part is, I'm now stuck between killing and saving Hughes. I could get Kit to pull a ninja operation and pretend he went missing when she's just simply hiding him, because the problem with him staying alive is that the Homunculi will try to kill him again and again, and Kit is no babysitter. It's not like the military could do it either, because it's all run by Pride. If Hughes dies, his death will weigh on my conscience (I hate sad endings).**

**So give me your opinions on that, especially. **

**Sarii**

**P.S. BECAUSE OF YOUR REVIEWS I MANAGED TO UPDATE A CHAPTER. THANK YOU LOVELY STRANGERS. ::Nobody gonna break my stride, nobody gonna slooow mee doowwnn!::**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**There Really Is No Rest For the Weary**

I tried to plan it out. I really did. It wasn't like I could just run in and snag Hughes while the Fuhrer was there, because then he'd figure out that I was also a Homunculus. Also, it'd be best that I covered up, so that Hughes didn't recognize me at first glance.

But there were also a lot of contributing factors to the final decision. I couldn't just save the guy and then let us both carry on with our lives. The Homunculi would be after him, still, and his family would soon be in danger as well. So I had to make him disappear. Xing.

In the original manga, Maria Ross is framed for Hughes murder, and to save her, Mustang's gang send her to Xing, across the desert. (Though I didn't know much about desert travel) I knew enough to be able to get Maes out of the city, at least, and after that I could run to Roy for a bit of help. My target was to get the man to the ruined city.

Most troublesome part was that I knew Xing was in the east, across the large expanse of desert. The continent that Amestris sat in the middle of was very like Earth. To the north, as it got colder, we are met with mountains that block Drachema (the neighbouring country) from invading. To the West (or was it south?) was another country that sounded like Creta, but I wasn't sure and didn't really pay attention. There was another country as well, but it remains unremarkable, named Aerugo.

I thought mostly about the series of events that would lead up to Hughes death. He'd been in the hospital talking to Ed and Al about Homunculi, which inevitably spurred the search for information. Lust would attack him in the records room; he would incapacitate her, but her job was done. Envy would find Hughes once the man left the building, and framing Maria Ross, Envy would shoot Hughes.

If worst comes to worst, I would try my damndest to take the bullet from Hughes. _I _could heal in seconds. He couldn't. No matter my issues with guns, I had to save Hughes. I needed to make some sort of difference, correct mine and Cody's mistakes.

I thought the most of everything as I jumped across rooftops. I was definitely going to have to get Roy's help later on, because there was no way I knew how to cross a desert, especially if I had a human with me. And the worst part was, I was definitely going to be seen by any and all Homunculi that pass my way, unless I got some sort of disguise—

I paused in my trek to look down and across the street at a small costume shop that appeared to still be closed. I grinned devilishly, and emerged from the shop moments later with a festival mask in the shape of a fox, and a cloak that looked like it just came from a Chinese store. It was a good guess that it was Xingese. (I had grabbed some shoes that matched, too, because I was aware of the information footprints could give to good trackers.)

I made it a few buildings away from the hospital before I realized that it was the wrong day.

Elicia's birthday was on the first day after the 5th Laboratory collapsed. Winry would be in town, and would stay the night at Hughes's place. It was the day after that Hughes would talk with Ed and Al, after the two brothers had their fight.

"Well, if that's so," I muttered to myself, turning around and heading back out east. I still had time to tell Roy what was going on.

As usual, it took me a few hours to get to East city. And, as usual, Roy was in his office. By then, it was about noon, and mostly everyone was either off duty or lunch break, so I popped in through the window with ease.

"Yo, Roy!"

He jumped out of his seat, "Who're you?!"

Oh, right. The mask.

I pulled off the fox mask with a grin, figuring that the disguise worked if the one person who knew me didn't know me.

Roy sighed and relaxed once he saw my face. "Kit," he growled, "what do you want?"

"I desperately need your help in a rescue mission to save a friend's life." I stated it gravely, but with the disbelieving look he gave me, it must have sounded a little more comical than intended. "No, seriously. Someone's gonna die unless we can get them out of the country."

"Who is it?"

"…I—I can't tell you."

"Then no." He turned away, pulling his chair out from his desk again.

"Maes Hughes." I gave in. "He's going to try to figure something out, and the others—,"

"—Others?"

"Yes, Homunculi, they're going to kill him if we don't get him out of the country—or at least Central, by tomorrow evening."

"Homunculi?" He asked in confusion, but the thought was tossed aside as he frowned, brows drawing together in thought—I could practically see the cogs turning. "That's not much time…"

"Lucky for you, then, all you need to do is get in contact with some people," I told him, stepping around the desk to find a seat. "I can get him out of Central. I know how the enemy works, and I know how to avoid them." I'd done it before, when I went bat-shit and ran into Envy and Lust. I could easily do it again. The only difference would be that Envy wouldn't hesitate to shoot me.

"How do you know all this?"

I looked up at Roy, with his hands folded over his desk, hiding most of his face, and I grinned almost evilly. "I told you. I'm a prophet."

He tried not to believe me, but I could see he was a little more suspicious, now.

* * *

"_Where did you go?"—_

_Roy took a step back—let the flame breathe—_

"—_this is a hostage situation— please understand—,"_

* * *

"_This is about…proving a point." BANG._

* * *

"_You're going to die."—_

"—_what gets most people killed."_

* * *

We put our plan into action as soon as possible.

I knew I couldn't just snatch Hughes off the street; he actually had to figure a few things out before I kidnapped him. And I couldn't just prevent him from going to the hospital room or to the records room, because eventually, he'd get there anyways and eventually, he'll piece things together.

No, he had to know what was going on first. Then I could explain to him that he was too dangerous for them to keep him alive.

* * *

When the hour came, I moved in, intercepting Hughes as he staggered out of the research room, a hand to his bleeding shoulder. I placed a hand on his other arm, effectively getting his attention.

Every bit of my skin was covered—Roy had outfitted me in a thin black turtleneck, leather gloves, and comfortable pants. I applied my cloak and mask to cover the rest of me, hood up to hide my hair and mask muffling my voice. It was no wonder Hughes tried to get away from me.

"Maes Hughes," I whispered, "if you don't come with me right now, you will die. I'm a contact for Mustang. Please, this way." I tugged his sleeve down a different hallway, and we made it to the other side of the building before exiting the grounds completely, unbothered by the guards. I found the pre-planned entrance to the sewer and ensured we weren't followed before handing Hughes some bandages to wrap up his shoulder with.

"What's going on?!" he demanded the moment he had a chance.

"You saw her—Lust," I clarified. "You know what she is. That's more than enough reason for them to kill you, but because of what you found out in the records room, you're practically their top target." I stood up and helped Maes get back on his feet. "I'm getting you out of Central. The rest of the team is getting you out of the country."

"Where?"

"I can't say. They could be listening."

We continued on our way through the sewers, slower than I'd like, but Maes refused to be carried. It took us an hour—or was it less? I didn't have a watch, and didn't bother asking Hughes—to get to the checkpoint, were a disguised few took charge of Hughes, getting him out of his uniform.

Before I headed back to complete the next part of what I wanted, I turned to the man I'd just saved. "Hughes. Your fates have been changed, don't take it for granted, and stay low. You won't be seeing your family for a long, long time."

I dashed off, back towards the centre of the city, to the telephone booth where Hughes was meant to be shot before I'd intervened. I picked up the receiver and dialled a number.

"Hey, I'm done work, I'll be home soon. Need me to pick up anything from the store?" I asked. Code. _Hughes is on his way out of the country. Is there anything else?_

"Good work. I don't think we need anything, see you soon," Roy, on the other side of the phone, said. We both hung up.

I turned around and addressed the creature leaning on the wall across the street. "Were you expecting someone else?

"…something like that," he said, and I didn't doubt that he was a little surprised I was talking to him.

Momentarily, I was glad my face was hidden.

* * *

"_Don't you dare do that again." I nodded—_

_--did something happen?_

_--his eyes watching me—if he was alright—_

_Envy._

* * *

"Envy, right?" I asked, approaching at a slow pace and stopping half-way across the road, placed directly under the light of a streetlamp. I could barely make out his form from the slits in my mask.

"Have we met before?"

"No, but I know things."

"What kind of things?" Naturally, he'd be curious.

"Lots. Enough to get me killed."

"Does that mean I should kill you?"

"I'd rather you didn't. Not yet."

"Oh?"

"I've got a few more things to carry out before I move on. Who knows where I'll go once this is all over."

"What exactly is 'this'?"

"…The war. And I don't want to be fighting against you."

That earned a silence. I waited for him to say something.

"Who are you?"

I smiled under my mask. "I'm their prophet."

* * *

Envy ended up trying to kill me.

He morphed a sword out of his hand and smashed my mask, but the nick he made in my forehead healed fairly quickly, and that fact alone threw him off balance.

He hissed, swore, and charged at me again. In my defence, I didn't raise a hand against him. I didn't want to fight, and I wanted to prove that point. Moreover, it would be just awesome having Envy as an ally.

It seemed, though, that I was either going to have to choose Mustang or Envy. I couldn't have both as my friends.

In a split-second decision, I was gone, running as far as I could, west, then north, very aware that he was still following me. I knew I could out-run him, and I did. In an hour my trail was clear, and I circled back to head south-east to find Mustang.

I flopped down on the floor near the wall in his office the first chance I got. Roy eyed me warily, and cautiously asked, "How did it go?"

"Not sure," I said. "It's up to the beta group, now, to get him out of the country. He was a little beat up when I found him, but the wound was taken care of quickly."

"And…?"

"I ran into someone I really didn't know how to deal with." I rubbed my forehead where Envy had nicked me, but of course the mark was gone. My mask was, too, and I was going to have to get a new one soon if I were to be doing any more work for Mustang. "My mask broke, too."

"Is this person going to be trouble in the near future?"

"Of course, naturally. I'll see what I can do to take care of it, but I'm not sure if it'll be much."

I turned to look at Roy's face, then, which was bathed in strange shadow, and clips from the animes came back to me. I recognized his 'war face', the hardened built-in mask that was keeping emotion at bay an only addressing what was necessary.

I needed to sort things out. At the moment, I was at an emotional precipice, on one side dangled Envy, by a thread that was wearing thin, and on the other stood Mustang, tall and certain in his path. For me, it was either one or the other, and I had already decided, no matter how sad it made me to leave him behind. But this was a new turn of things, and I had to correct my mistakes, and Cody's.

I stared at Mustang as he returned to his deskwork.

* * *

"_Where else would you have gone?"_

"_Good question."_

* * *

**A/N: Holycrap. I'm alive. **

**So I've got some news for you. I'm moving house, to a completely different area altogether, so although I should have put more effort into getting this chapter together, I can gaurantee it'll be a while before another one comes out. I've got to settle into an entirely new school before exams, and hopefully it won't affect my education at all.**

**All excuses aside, I'm glad to have picked out this story to work on again, even if all my FMA volumes are packed away. XD **

**I HIGHLY RECCOMMEND THE SONG Sauglopur BY Sigur Ros. **

**Please ask questions and point out loopholes and all that. I'm thinking about altering the first few chapters to fit more with storylines, as it's rather hard to keep track of the story as a whole. **

**Oh yeah, and Mustang doesn't really know that Kit's a Homunculus, she just assumes he knows. That's the fun part. I'm sure they'll have a bit to discuss once Roy remembers to ask her about it.**

**-HW-**


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